Ramadan is here

Ramadan started a week ago today.  What a great month it is; great meaning it is full of blessings, forgiveness, renewal, prayer, control, and bonding.  When we think it is so hard to fast from dawn to sunset, we remember those less fortunate.  Families of my friends are in Syria right now sleeping in their hallways because snipers are shooting randomly into homes.  Sick soldiers are going home by home terrorizing the men, women, and little ones, slaughtering them after torturing them for no good reason.  Muslims there are fasting, their food supplies running low and their cash supply dwindling every day.

Fasting is like a big brother taking you by your shoulders and shaking you telling you to snap out of it (whatever 'it' might be for you).  You don't realize what you've got until that basic need (food and drink) is taken away from you for a few hours for you to realize what you have to be thankful for.  I made a funny comparison the other day.  Sometimes my kids gets caught up in a certain computer game or XBox game, and I find them sneaking a few extra minutes here and there when they think I'm not paying attention.  Or they forget all about our rules and play without eating breakfast, getting dressed, and doing the stuff I like them to do in the morning.  When they've reached that point in the past, they've been grounded from the game for a while to get it out of their system and out of their routine.  During their grounded time they come up with stuff to do!  They make up new games, draw, talk to each other.  They see other things they can fill their time with.  That's how I feel fasting is for us during the day.  Like we've been grounded from the thing we are fixated with (filling our bellies, feeling good about it, etc..).  And that gives me the opportunity to reflect on so much more out there that will hopefully lead me to a better spiritual self.

"O you who believe! Observing As-Sawm (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)” (Al-Baqarah 2:183)