Leftover

I subscribe to the spiritual SMS messaging team by AA Gym, a well known speaker in Indonesia.

Today it posted a question of why we give God the leftover. We do our prescribed prayer once our business is done. We recite and glorify Him after we chat with friends. We spend on charity for His sake out of our leftover shopping money. We read His Words when we're free from playing...

Meanwhile, God always gives us the best. We are given the best shape. The best ability. Health. Life. Solutions to our problems. Etc.

I thought, that is so true.

I spreaded the message to a few groups of friends. Some of them agreed instantly.

But how do we change this? How do we come out of our wordly hussle and bussle routines?

How do we put God as priority? And not just as a mere verbal promise.

I sooo would love it if there was an instant way of "getting there". Being God-conscious at all time. Feeling calm and content in any situation.

I tasted a bit of that state during my pilgrimage last year. God was the centre of my daily activities. My mouth recited prayer and glorification all the time (cause our group leader had been telling us to do this since before the trip). My mind was full of awe to experience new things around me. If not, it was busy thinking what time to sleep, to get up, to eat -- so that I could arrange the best condition for the next prayer session with Him. So that I could get a nice spot to communicate with Him. So that I could have enough time to read His Words.

That's all that matters.

Of course things weren't perfect. In fact, a lot of things went wrong. People were not always nice and kind and perfect. Yet we all seemed to keep our cool head, reminding one another that God was testing us in many different ways.

It was peaceful and beautiful.

Sadly, a pilgrimage is not meant to go forever. Shortly after the main, intense pilgrimage week, we were out of ihram and we were free to do anything we want, or to go anywhere we want.

I guess the real tests begin even after you've come home from a pilgrimage. You're thrown back into your routine of full-time work, household matters and social groups that await you.

And it is so easy to lose your sense of direction...