Unto every father hath been enjoined the instruction of his son and daughter in the art of reading and writing and in all that hath been laid down in the Holy Tablet.
(Baha’u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 37)

Today my little Juliet turned 5! Today, I walked up the hill holding her little hand on the way to school for her first day of kindergarten, and her older sister’s hand on her way to becoming a proud first grader! With two bouquets of flowers for the teachers, the girls left one phase of childhood and entered another — ever more exciting and fascinating. Today, for me at least, is the real Father’s Day!

As we both belted our voices over the phone, we sang until our spirits were uplifted and I personally could sense that she was in my heart’s embrace even though she was physically away from me.  The song we sang was our own rendition of “Sign of Love”, from SKY‘s brilliant CD “A Cycle of Divine Love Songs“:

O SON OF MAN!
For everything there is a sign. The sign of love is fortitude under My decree and patience under My trials.
(Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words, #48)

O true companions! All humankind are as children in a school, and the Dawning-Points of Light, the Sources of divine revelation, are the teachers, wondrous and without peer. In the school of realities they educate these sons and daughters, according to teachings from God, and foster them in the bosom of grace, so that they may develop along every line, show forth the excellent gifts and blessings of the Lord, and combine human perfections; that they may advance in all aspects of human endeavour, whether outward or inward, hidden or visible, material or spiritual, until they make of this mortal world a widespread mirror, to reflect that other world which dieth not.

(Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 127)

He, verily, rewardeth beyond measure them that endure with patience.
(Baha’u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, p. 72)

Last week was the longest uninterrupted period of quality time I got to spent with my precious girls in a year. We went on vacation at the Baha’i Social and Economic Development conference in Orlando, FL. There were many touching, joyful moments and many frustrating ones. I had an opportunity to reflect on many things, one of which was the need for patience in parenting.

As I was walking with Sofia and Juliet towards a nearby movie theater to see “Princess and the Frog”, we had to cross a construction site which had fenced a walkway to guide the pedestrians safely to their destination. The girls joyfully hopped and walked and sang and stopped as we were moving slowly ahead, instantly absorbed by every little thing that grabbed their attention, while I was trying to usher them patiently so we get to the movie theater on time.

At that moment I imagined us all on our path from the perspective of God, Who gives us a direction, shows us the way — sometimes fenced, other times open — gently nudges us to move along, reminding us what the ultimate destination is while never becoming impatient as we absentmindedly get focused on things of lesser importance. Why that is, I thought? Because He loves us, and He knows that all these little distractions are part of our lives. Difficult as these distractions make finding the balance of life, without them we would be sterile masters of the pursuit of check-box lists of achievements. Each little blade of grass Sofia picked or each little pebble Juliet gathered from the path we were on, were for them as important as the ambition of getting on time to see the latest Disney movie. As I observed them immersed in the moment, I was gratefully rejoicing in the gift God had given me — the gift of patience. Or rather, the gift of an opportunity to be patient!

For as God was addressing Evan Baxter in the movie “Evan Almighty”:

Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?

So, I have been given an immense opportunity to be patient in my sincere attempts to be the best father I can be. And God is a masterful, patient teacher! His Messenger too, gives us marvelous guidance. As a newly discovered friend pointed: “Here is one opportunity to be patient: read the Tablet known as Suriy-i Sabr (Surih of Patience), or Lawh-i Ayyub (the Tablet of Job) by Baha’u'llah“!

Bahá’u'lláh has stated quite clearly in His Writings the essential requisites for our spiritual growth, and these are stressed again and again by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His Talks and Tablets. One can summarize them briefly in this way:

1. The recital each day of one of the Obligatory Prayers with pure-hearted devotion.

2. The regular reading of the Sacred Scriptures, specifically at least each morning and evening, with reverence, attention and thought.

3. Prayerful meditation on the teachings, so that we may understand them more deeply, fulfil them more faithfully, and convey them more accurately to others.

4. Striving every day to bring our behavior more into accordance with the high standards that are set forth in the teachings.

5. Teaching the Cause of God.

6. Selfless service in the work of the Cause and in the carrying on of our trade or profession.”

(From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly. September 1, 1983; listed in Lights of Guidance, Fourth Revised Edition, Section XLV, Reverence and Spirituality, p. 541, #1835)

Happy growing!

Unto every father hath been enjoined the instruction of his son and daughter in the art of reading and writing and in all that hath been laid down in the Holy Tablet.
(Baha’u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 37)

Love. Love is what has been laid down in the Holy Tablet. Many more laws indeed but the most profound is the law around which all other laws revolve — the law of love:

Know thou of a certainty that Love is the secret of God’s holy Dispensation, the manifestation of the All-Merciful, the fountain of spiritual outpourings. Love is heaven’s kindly light, the Holy Spirit’s eternal breath that vivifieth the human soul. Love is the cause of God’s revelation unto man, the vital bond inherent, in accordance with the divine creation, in the realities of things. Love is the one means that ensureth true felicity both in this world and the next. Love is the light that guideth in darkness, the living link that uniteth God with man, that assureth the progress of every illumined soul. Love is the most great law that ruleth this mighty and heavenly cycle, the unique power that bindeth together the divers elements of this material world, the supreme magnetic force that directeth the movements of the spheres in the celestial realms. Love revealeth with unfailing and limitless power the mysteries latent in the universe. Love is the spirit of life unto the adorned body of mankind, the establisher of true civilization in this mortal world, and the shedder of imperishable glory upon every high-aiming race and nation.
(Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 27)

Love can be expressed in many ways. One of the ways I express my love for my dear daughters is by baking for them my special birthday cake.

Three years ago I was unable to be with my daughter Juliet on her first birthday. I was heart broken beyond words. I made a promise to myself then, to make every humanly possible effort to never miss a birthday of either of my beautiful little girls. And so far, with God’s help, not only have I been present at each of their birthdays but I have also baked my birthday cake at each of their birthday parties.

Today my little Juliet turned four and I was so happy to arrange a party for her, her older sister and some dear friends who have helped me throughout this summer of tests and difficulties. I baked the special birthday party that my mother always baked for my own birthday parties. The girls liked the cake and that was nice but what was best of all was seeing the happiness on their bright faces as they hugged me and ran around in their joyous celebration. Being able to share my love with them makes me happy. Being able to recognize that it is God who gave me the gift of having two wonderful daughters and it is God who put the gift of love for them in my heart, makes me doubly happy, and grateful! I feel I have a gift in me to not just be a good father but to be a great father. And I fully intend to share this gift with the ones God entrusted me with.

Birthday cake baking fathers of the world, unite! The world needs more of us (just as the world needs more girl engineers)!

The darker the night will turn, and the more intense and dreadful its convulsions and commotions become, the nearer will be the appointed time when the bright morn of deliverance will dawn, when the day-star of felicity and emancipation will shine, when the light of the glory, power and independence of the Faith of God will radiate with extraordinary brilliance, when the fall and collapse, the destruction and ruin of the people of malice and iniquity in that land will become apparent and conspicuous.

(Shoghi Effendi, Fire and Light, p. 36)

I am so grateful for the wonderful opportunity I had tonight to pray with my beautiful daughters and some of my closest friends. That was the best birthday gift I could have asked for. The prayers could not have arrived at a better time as the complexities of the challenges ahead of me can be resolved only by a prayer hearing, prayer answering God:

He is the prayer-hearing, prayer-answering God!

By Thy glory, O Beloved One, Thou giver of light to the world! The flames of separation have consumed me, and my waywardness hath melted my heart within me. I ask of Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, O Thou the Desire of the world and the Well-Beloved of mankind, to grant that the breeze of Thine inspiration may sustain my soul, that Thy wondrous voice may reach my ear, that my eyes may behold Thy signs and Thy light as revealed in the manifestations of Thy names and Thine attributes, O Thou within Whose grasp are all things!

Thou seest, O Lord my God, the tears of Thy favored ones, shed because of their separation from Thee, and the fears of Thy devoted ones in their remoteness from Thy Holy Court. By Thy power, that swayeth all things, visible and invisible! It behooveth Thy loved ones to shed tears of blood for that which hath befallen the faithful at the hands of the wicked and the oppressors on the earth. Thou beholdest, O my God, how the ungodly have compassed Thy cities and Thy realms!  I ask Thee by Thy Messengers and Thy chosen ones and by Him whereby the standard of Thy divine unity hath been implanted amidst Thy servants, to shield them by Thy bounty. Thou art, verily, the Gracious, the All-Bountiful.

And, again, I ask Thee by the sweet showers of Thy grace and the billows of the ocean of Thy favor, to ordain for Thy saints that which shall solace their eyes and comfort their hearts. Lord! Thou seest him that kneeleth yearning to arise and serve Thee, the dead calling for eternal life from the ocean of Thy favor and craving to soar to the heavens of Thy wealth, the stranger longing for his home of glory ‘neath the canopy of Thy grace, the seeker hastening by Thy mercy to Thy door of bounty, the sinful turning to the ocean of forgiveness and pardon.

By Thy sovereignty, O Thou Who art glorified in the hearts of men! I have turned to Thee, forsaking mine own will and desire, that Thy holy will and pleasure may rule within me and direct me according to that which the pen of Thy eternal decree hath destined for me. This servant, O Lord, though helpless turneth to the Orb of Thy Power, though abased hasteneth unto the Dayspring of Glory, though needy craveth the Ocean of Thy Grace. I beseech Thee by Thy favor and bounty, cast him not away.

Thou art verily the Almighty, the Pardoner, the Compassionate.

- Bahá’u'lláh

(Compilations, Baha’i Prayers, p. 145)

And now, it is time for bed for this seeker of truth:

O seeker of Truth! If thou desirest that God may open thine eye, thou must supplicate unto God, pray to and commune with Him at midnight, saying:

O Lord, I have turned my face unto Thy kingdom of oneness and am immersed in the sea of Thy mercy. O Lord, enlighten my sight by beholding Thy lights in this dark night, and make me happy by the wine of Thy love in this wonderful age. O Lord, make me hear Thy call, and open before my face the doors of Thy heaven, so that I may see the light of Thy glory and become attracted to Thy beauty. Verily, Thou art the Giver, the Generous, the Merciful, the Forgiving.

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

(Compilations, Baha’i Prayers, p. 60)

Friday movie night was dedicated to Tinkerbell, “the spunky, rebellious, impatient, impulsive, determined, persistent, temperamental… yet still charming and lovable fairy” which was born out of Disney’s unlimited ability to branch out stories and produce brand-able characters. Tinkerbell, like all other fairies, is given a unique talent symbolized, in her case, by a… hammer. When she discovers the meaning of this all, she is quite disappointed. For she is a tinkering fairy, not a “fancy” one. Tinkering fairies are basically the engineering type fairies — hardworking, creative (but not in the artistic sense, rather in the fixing things sense). The problem is, Tinkerbell really wants to be somebody else; in fact, she would want to be any kind of fairy but the tinkering one.

The movie is fun, at times even funny. I hope it will be embraced by organizations striving to encourage girls to go into engineering for I well remember when I was in my electronics design class there were only three girls out of a class of ninety…

Back to Tinkerbell and the moral of her story… She chases a dream: to go to the Mainland where humans live. And she is so eager to get there, she would try to learn any other fairy’s skill (no matter how incapable she might be at that) in order to prove that she is worthy of being allowed the flight back to the world of humans. So she tries being others, miserably fails at anything that is not her true calling, all along ignoring her own talents, always wishing for something others have. Finally, through tests and difficulties, she is given an opportunity to use her so-far-ignored but true talent in service to others and… she finds happiness.

If this all sounds like a Disney movie, well, it is a Disney movie. But it delighted me with the message that finding who you are and being content with that is so important, for you can never predict the wonderful adventures ahead of you. Pity the ones who are neither aware of their true self, nor able to find happiness in it.

True loss is for him whose days have been spent in utter ignorance of his self.
(Baha’u'llah, Tablets of Baha’u'llah, p. 155)

17. O SON OF MAN!

Be thou content with Me and seek no other helper. For none but Me can ever suffice thee.
(Baha’u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)

First came the news, delivered to me by a cell phone call as I was biking across Key Bridge from Georgetown to Arlington, that Mariama had declared! She is Nancy’s Malian neighbor who attended a fireside less than a month ago, then attended our devotional and joined our Ruhi 1 study circle. She spoke so eloquently tonight of her joy and gratitude of finding the truth of God and her eagerness to help others discover that truth for themselves!

Then came the news that my little daughters and their mommy were having a Feast of their own at home, with all three parts: prayers, prayer songs, consultation on what makes them happy (the love of God, said one, and planting the rose of love in the garden of your heart, said the other), and agreed on a service project — saying prayers for all children in the neighborhood — and then feasted on… peanuts

How can one not be happy at such a feast! Ya’Baha’ul’Abha!

The joyous feasts which these companions, despite their extremely modest earnings, continually offered in honor of their Beloved; the gatherings, lasting far into the night, in which they loudly celebrated, with prayers, poetry and song, the praises of the Báb, of Quddus and of Bahá’u'lláh; the fasts they observed; the vigils they kept; the dreams and visions which fired their souls, and which they recounted to each other with feelings of unbounded enthusiasm; the eagerness with which those who served Bahá’u'lláh performed His errands, waited upon His needs, and carried heavy skins of water for His ablutions and other domestic purposes; the acts of imprudence which, in moments of rapture, they occasionally committed; the expressions of wonder and admiration which their words and acts evoked in a populace that had seldom witnessed such demonstrations of religious transport and personal devotion — these, and many others, will forever remain associated with the history of that immortal period, intervening between the birth hour of Bahá’u'lláh’s Revelation and its announcement on the eve of His departure from Iraq.

(Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 135)

Monday’s Prayer Station once again reminded me how much the question of the meaning of life is on people’s minds.

I was reflecting last night on the value of journaling one’s thoughts. There is a qualitative difference between when I journal my own thoughts and when I journal my reflections on inspired thoughts and Holy Writings. Life is so much easier when there is a guiding light to follow. I am so blessed to have this light in the Baha’i Faith.

This morning Gmail randomly selected a quote for me:

Robert Byrne: The purpose of life is a life of purpose.

Baha’i Readings sent me a message too:

The most important thing is to polish the mirrors of hearts in order that they may become illumined and receptive of the divine light. One heart may possess the capacity of the polished mirror; another be covered and obscured by the dust and dross of this world. Although the same Sun is shining upon both, in the mirror which is polished, pure and sanctified you may behold the Sun in all its fullness, glory and power revealing its majesty and effulgence, but in the mirror which is rusted and obscured there is no capacity for reflection although so far as the Sun itself is concerned it is shining thereon and is neither lessened nor deprived. Therefore our duty lies in seeking to polish the mirrors of our hearts in order that we shall become reflectors of that light and recipients of the divine bounties which may be fully revealed through them.

‘Abdu’l-Baha

Staying out of trouble, making sure not to do the wrong things, is so much less than a life of inspired service.

Being not the center of the universe but of service to others is so much more fulfilling than consuming whatever others might provide or might be manipulated out of.

Becoming a father was one (or rather two) of those pivotal moments in my life that very dramatically showed me that the meaning of life is in serving God and His creation. I am happy for Phillipe for experiencing this joy and blessing as well!

Blessings to you all!