Include God in Your Life This New Year

A new year is upon us and we are granted an additional year of thriving and spirituality. Let us observe the endless bounty Allah is granting us every single day, with every sunrise, every heartbeat and every breath we take.

Think of all the bumps you turned into mountains last year; all the edges you imagined as cliffs, and all the blessings you took for granted. The negative thought was unnecessary–a self-made burden. This year, let us do things differently. Embrace the possibility you will make mistakes, but they will be perfect lessons; accept that you may fall, but you can get up again. If you doubt your strength, your faith will be your support in time of need.

The best way to start this year, and move closer to God and a blessed life, is by Gratitude. Surely, there must be many things you can be grateful for: family, home, love, health, sight, breath, food, water, mobility, thought. No doubt, you may have difficulty and lack of resources. But, a grateful heart is a magnet for more of life’s resources and God’s blessings.

Sowing the seeds of gratitude in your mind is very easy and it’s within your reach. The flowers which signify abundance and fullness might seem far away for now. But if you focus on preparing the ground, planting the seeds, and watering the soil, the flowers will come on their own accord.

From the book It’s Worth Going, by Rahaf Amaneddine: Allah is closer to you than your own self. Remember, “To Allah we belong, and to Him, we shall return.”

Acknowledge that He is the God of new beginnings and endings, and thank Him for the chapter that has ended, and for the new one that has just begun. Pray for Him just because He is worthy of this and much more…He is in no need of your worship or prayers, those are merely for your own benefit.

“The Lord alone deserves all of the praise” Psalms – 115

Being with Allah, it is safe to leave the past behind, have faith in the future, and be diligent and grateful in the present.

From Henry Jawhary, Druze Times: ‘Leave the past behind’, as Loujein states here, is more powerful than the casual reader might first suspect. In another sense, it means not living in the past, and certainly not dwelling on it either. For both would be useless activities at best, that prevent you from living in the Now, from knowing presence. Loujein also says, ‘have faith in the future’, which is a beautiful way to phrase our idea of a future point in psychological time. The Future is not Now and should not occupy our mind any more than is needed to provide reasonable guidance, meaning in part that we should not daydream or indulge in anything which prevents us from experiencing the current. ‘Have faith’, she says, which wonderfully entrusts the future to a greater power knowing everything will be as it should and we can be free to tend to each of our days this new year!

Choose to start this year and every year with a grateful heart and set sail in the sea that Allah chooses for you. This year, include Allah in one of your resolutions, and you’ll see how He will include you in His best and most perfect plans.