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This is a chapter from my third book called Love letters

Loving God for me is when the two o's of Good become one. They are others and ourselves. When we love God, we love others as ourselves. This means that we treat others with kindness, compassion, and respect. It also means that we take care of ourselves and love ourselves as God loves us. We are one in the sight of God. This is the goodness of God. Faith, action and feeling intertwine and influence each other. For example: Faith takes away my doubts; Action strengthens my love for God; And I feel peace and joy in loving God.

My faith was not always this strong and I still have much work to do. When I was younger there was one question that bothered my logical mind. If we had to have a creator then who created God? The work of Blaise Pascal is a good starting point for answering this question. In his unfinished posthumous work Pensées (Thoughts) under the section "The Mystery of God" it is stated, "We know that there is a God, and we know that we do not know him .... God is not to be understood but to be felt." This leads me to examine the definition of faith. Faith is the belief in something that cannot be seen or proven. We believe in God's infinite power and that He always existed. From the Quran, Surah Al-Hadid (verse 3) we are told, "He is the First and the Last, the Evident and the Immanent, and He is Knowing of all things."

One of the most profound statements I came across that helped me plenty is that we worship God so that we do not worship things of this world and become slaves to this world. There was a time I would attend Friday prayers and now I listen to the khutbah (or sermon) online. In one khutbah I learnt that tests in life both good and bad are meant to bring out the good in us for which we will be rewarded. In another, I was reminded that Islam is more than a religion, it’s a way of life. The last in person khutbah I attended spoke about kindness and how we treat each other. Again, love for others and love for ourselves.

God knows us better than any human can. He knows what is in our hearts and what are our intentions. I have found it best to leave things out of my control in the hands of God. Prayers work from my experience and this strengthens my belief in God and my love for God. I thank God for giving me life and the ability to put my thoughts and feelings into words. I thank God for giving me a loving heart. I thank God for His mercy and forgiveness. Love of God gives my life meaning.
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