Monday, August 18, 2008

Got Patience?



I was watching Evans Almighty the other day. A good movie it was though it is certainly not appropriate for young Muslims as it does not depict the true teachings of Islam. I say so because of many reasons one of it being that God does not represents Himself in the form of a creation (i.e. in a human form) since He is the Creator. Unless you have a solid foundation in the sense that you are able to differentiate between a movie and reality especially made by non-Muslims who did not base their storyline with the Syariah (note that it is not expected for them to do so in the very beginning), it’s better not to confuse yourself from the very beginning by watching the movie.

Anyhow, there were some parts of the movie that tickled my thinking cells in my brain. Ill elaborate two particular lessons that I think are worth mentioning.

The first was the scene when Evans was questioning on how he could change the world. The answer was simple. The first step to change the world is by taking an act of random kindness. In that movie, the example given was putting some water for a dog to drink. I thought it was a sweet thing to do and I’m not interested to elaborate further here.

The second, (and this lesson smacked me right in my face,) was when Evans’ wife was receiving some informal revelation in a restaurant. Evans’ wife was told that when anyone asks for patience or courage or love, God does not simply place patience or courage or even love in one’s heart. God would give an opportunity or a situation where that person can BE patient or brave or to love another person.

Why I say that this lesson smacked me straight in my face was because I remember specifically praying to God to grant me patience sometime ago. I repeated this prayer many many times. An then… I broke my tibial bone whilst playing futsal after whacking my best friend’s leg (who was my team mate that time) !!! I was in a cast for about 10 weeks. My God!!! I nearly lost my mind not having the freedom to move freely. Then I saw Evans Almighty and I realized that hey, the second lesson does make sense.

I feel that after being in a case for about 10 weeks and trying my very best not to irritate others too much because of my own frustration, really gave me the opportunity to be more patient. Credits go to the Bride for managing to endure such strenous epic with not a single complaint!!!

My dad told me once that it’s never easy to be patient and that patience requires a lot of practice. It is also mentioned in the Quran that verily, God is with those who are patient…
Blog adjourned…

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