Love Is A Verb

Walking around MSU Campus with Amina on a carrier last December 2015.

Jabar and I are celebrating our third anniversary today. Alhamdulillah. We're a newbie in the marriage department, in relationships in general, and we're still on the process of figuring out the ingredients that make up a blissful lifetime marriage. Our three years was quite a tough ride and the toughest was the LDR part. Jabar and I didn't know each other when we first met, not even our shadows. It was a blind date set up by a common cousin of ours. After several visits, he was resolute that I was "the one". I wholeheartedly accepted the marriage proposal which was facilitated by our parents. Being both relationship neophytes, we never anticipated how unbearable it would be apart from each other. Shaytaan (the devil) always comes to me with whispers of doubt against my husband. With a whirlwind romance like ours, who wouldn't have possible doubts in mind? However, Jabar stood patiently for me and proved that all my doubts were baseless accusations created by the shaytaan inside my mind. Astagfirullah. May Allah forgive me. Those days played a major role in the development of my quarter-life crisis but it left a huge mark on me. It taught me patience and gratitude. It taught me to be more understanding and to see people from where they are coming from. Most importantly, it strengthened our marriage by building our trust in one another. Marriage is a two-way process, as cliche as it may sound, indeed it is a give-and-take relationship. One cannot be staying only on one side of the scale. Both husband and wife must be flexible and must be wearing many hats in the relationship. 

Jabar and I grew up in a contrasting family and educational background but what binds us are our core values and the firm decision to put Allah in the center of our relationship. Whenever I go through something, I always seek his advise and he never fails to listen with an open mind and provide a sound and unbias take on the matter at hand. Sometimes I tease him that he belongs to the generation of my father! Haha! He always reminds me of Papa with his train of thoughts. He's been through lot of pains and struggles in his life that molded him into the way he is now. He takes matter seriously and decides resolutely. He's always the stronger one. He's my rock. I am more than grateful that God gave him to me as my husband and the father of my child(-ren). With him, so long as Allah guides us, I know that nothing can go wrong. In shaa Allah.      

Sometimes I wish we have met earlier. I think it would have been better, more romantic and cuter if we had had some movie dates or dinner dates before we got married. (But he said he wouldn't marry me had I permitted to go on a date with him before marriage. Ugh. KJ. Lol!) But God has a wonderful plan of putting us two together. He made us go through trials first until we found our suitable respective niches on this world. Allah has shown me, through this marriage, that His timing and His plans are perfect and I wouldn't have it any other way. As Jabar and I work to strengthen our faith in Allah, He consequently strengthens our marriage. We still have a long road ahead and many challenges to hurdle, but with Allah being the center of our relationship, we would go just fine. :) 

                          

Dinner date at the newly-opened Paul restaurant in Emporium. The only Paul resto near us was at the Central Embassy Mall, but now we have it walking distance. Yay! :D