A few weeks ago, a local all-girls college sent their freshman to the masjid to observe a prayer and listen to a presentation on Islam. I spoke to give the perspective of a woman who had converted--it's something I've done several times before. And almost every time I do it, I get the same question, how my family reacted.
In fact I get asked about my family quite a lot, though I try to avoid answering as much as I can. I don't even feel like I blog about them all that much--at least, considering what an important part of my life they used to be. Used to be, because things aren't the same.
Some of you who have been reading my blog for a while might remember the disaster I mentioned after last Christmas. And then again, you might not, since I breezed over it pretty quickly though the experience for me was nothing short of traumatic. But one of my biggest problems last year was that I simply hadn't done enough to keep in touch with my family throughout the year. And a lot of tension which I had been avoiding sort of built up at once.
Alhamdulillah, though, this year has been different. Better, overall. I've made plenty of mistakes, that's for sure, but have also seen improvements. For instance, now that I live much closer to my parents, I visit them more. I visit every week, sometimes several times a week, and make a point of trying to be kind and helpful to my parents. While my brother and his fiancee are living there as well, I get to spend time with them. And I've made a point of seeing one of my sisters and keeping in touch with her by phone.
So I've decided to try to spend Thanksgiving with them--since it is one of the rare occasions they all gather together. I can't say I'm really looking forward to it... I'm more anxious than anything else.
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4 comments:
Amy,
I hope that the day goes well for you and the rest of your family, and that your efforts have paid off in easing tensions with them.
-Amber
Thanks Amber.
Hope you spent a wonderful time with your family. Odd how the ones we love the most give us grief and joy. Just wait till you have your own children. Sometimes you'll want to eat them... and then when they grow you'll wish you did.
May Allah make it easy for you, I know it's hard to navigate familial relations after conversion, I've also made many mistakes that I regret, going forward, I do try to attend events that are important to my family as much as I can and when the opportunity arises, to explain my beliefs in a gentle way, as well as visiting and keeping in touch more often and trying to be helpful.
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