He Is Calling

We ask Allah for a spouse. Ya Allah, give me someone to share my life with. And He gives. Then He calls us back to Him. But now we are married. We are busy. There is someone else who needs our time, our attention, our evenings. So we do not respond. Yet, we ask Him for more.

Ya Allah, give us a home. And He gives. Then He calls us back to Him. But now there is the house, the bills, the furniture, the cleaning, the repairs, the endless things that need to be done. So we do not respond. Yet, we ask Him for more.

Ya Allah, give us a child. And He gives. Then He calls us back to Him. But now there are sleepless nights, school runs, appointments, classes, meals and responsibilities. We are tired. We are stretched. So we do not respond. Yet, we ask Him for more.

Ya Allah, give our child a sibling. And He gives. Then He calls us back to Him. But now there are two children to raise, two lives to care for, double the responsibilities, double the expenses, and even less time. So we do not respond. Yet, we ask Him for more.

The house is too small now. Ya Allah, give us a bigger home. And He gives. Then He calls us back to Him. But now there is even more to maintain, more to pay for, more to manage. So we do not respond. Yet, we ask Him for more.

And still, we ask. More comfort, more money, more ease, more opportunities, more time. And He keeps giving. And after every gift, He keeps calling us back. But somehow, the more He gives us, the less time we seem to have for Him.

Until one day, life begins to change. The children grow up. They make their own friends, build their own lives, and slowly need us less. The house becomes quieter. Our marriage enters different seasons too, and the life we once built around constant responsibilities begins to change. The things that once kept us so busy may slowly begin to loosen their hold on us.

And suddenly, we have time again.

But do we really want to wait until life frees us before we return to Allah? Do we want to wait until the children grow up, the responsibilities lessen, the house becomes quiet, and the distractions disappear before we finally answer the One who has been calling us all along?

Maybe the problem was never the spouse, never the children, never the house, never the responsibilities. Maybe the problem was that every time Allah gave us something, we became busy with the gift and forgot the Giver.

And still, He calls.

After all the times we were too busy. After all the gifts that distracted us. After all the times we thought, maybe later.

He still calls.

So how long will we keep asking Him for more, while giving Him less?