American Sister Accept Islam..
Religion was never something that we learned growing up. My parents didn't take me to church. We didn't speak of religion. We said grace before meals when I was young, to thank God for our meal, but that was the extent of it. As I entered my teenage years, I would go to church with friends or cousins, but I never took anything with me. What I mean is, nothing ever stuck with me. I still to this day have never read more than a few pages of the bible.
When I was 18, I started to date a Muslim in North Carolina. This was my first introduction to true Islam. Before, I only knew what I saw on tv and what friends talked of it. Mind you, I lived in Fayetteville, NC, home of Fort Bragg & Pope Air Force base. My friends were all military. So my views and opinions of the religion were very skewed.
I found myself wanting to learn more. I began reading books on Islam, but never the Koran. By age 19, my relationship had ended but my curiosity was not yet satiated so I continued to read more. I found myself admiring women in hijab. I gained a Muslim friend who was a woman, and she opened my eyes to a lot.
I married at age 20 to a Muslim man and he tried to introduce me to Islam by getting me to convert right away. Immediately, I rebelled against it.
I am now 28, my quest to Islam has been 10 years in the making. Aged to perfection. I told myself I will either admit defeat or find God. My life had been hard. It has been full of struggle. I have made many, MANY mistakes. But Islam is not one of them.
A few nights ago, I finally got up the nerve to try. I cleared a space, cleansed myself, covered myself, and I began to pray along with a video I found online. I did not finish my prayer, as I was interrupted and scared half to death in the process. But words cannot describe how I felt afterwards. For the first time, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. In the vulnerability of prayer. The vulnerability of giving myself over completely. It was a high like I have never felt before. And it was in that moment, that beautiful moment; I knew Allah was calling me home.
Sister Gencie from US
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