Reflections Spouse

The Little Things That Count

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Photo: Adam Hilliker

Glimpses of Marital Bliss: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IVPart V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI

Some of us have grandiose ideas of what romance is. Many of us have been programmed by popular culture to expect big gestures of love and passion and intimacy. However, when we take the time to appreciate the romance in consistent acts of love, such as mutual support in the home, the encouragement for all we take on outside, it allows us to look at romance in an entirely different, practical, possible, tangible way.

 

“I am not a car person. I don’t care what I drive. I don’t take care of my car. Which is the opposite of my husband. He is ‘married’ to his car; he takes care of it and always reminds me to take care of my car.

The worst part about it for me is filling up on gas. I always do it at the last minute, Monday morning—right before work!

It was Sunday night and my husband had to go out and he insisted on taking my car instead of his.

It was Monday morning the next day, and as usual I was rushing. My husband was also in a rush, but he told me, ‘Relax, don’t rush!’

We exchanged quick hugs and I was out the door. As I started the engine, to my surprise the gas tank was full!

Later that day when I talked to him, I said, ‘Thank you! That was really nice of you to fill my gas. But why were you rushing this morning?’

To which he replied, ‘I had to fill mine!’

He skipped filling out his own tank so that he could fill mine. Completely shocked, I told him, ‘You didn’t have to do that!’ He responded, ‘It is my duty!’”

 

Contrary to what we often hear, there are spouses who deeply, deeply care about their better half and would be willing to do anything to support them. The beautiful part of this story was not only the action of the husband, but the way in which the wife appreciated his action. This, dear readers, is real life romance.

 


*If you would like share sweet glimpses from your marriage with hopes of spreading awareness of positive relationships in the Muslim community, please email Maryam@VirtualMosque.com with a short narrative. Your submission may be featured anonymously in this mini-series of Glimpses of Marital Bliss.

 

About the author

Maryam Amirebrahimi

Maryam Amirebrahimi received her master’s in Education from UCLA, where her research focused on the effects of mentorship rooted in Critical Race Theory for urban high school students of color. She holds a bachelor’s in Child and Adolescent Development from San Jose State University, where she served as the President of the Muslim Student Association for two consecutive years. Currently, she is pursuing a second bachelor’s degree in Islamic Studies through Al Azhar University’s distance learning program. Maryam spent a year studying the Arabic language and Qur’an in Cairo, Egypt, and has memorized the Qur’an. She has been presented the Student of the Year award by former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and holds a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Maryam frequently travels to work with different communities to address a variety of social issues and writes about topics related to social realities, women’s studies and spiritual connections on www.virtualmosque.com.

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