What do you do when the things you want most are happening for everyone but you? Who do you become when your plans don't fall through? When you are in the waiting period of your life?  When I look back on my own  life journey thus far, I realize that if everything had gone according to my plans and not God’s Plan, I don't think I would have been as intentional or filled with all of the gratitude I have for all that I was blessed with today.  Maybe my relationship with Allah wouldn’t be as strong as it is today, either. Today I am a bit more grateful that my life path came with a couple of bumps in the road and just the right amount of rerouting. I am where God has intended for me to be. A delay in our plans is essentially Allah gifting us with more time. Time to work on ourselves. To prioritize the blessings we have right in front of us and maybe this delay is a much needed breather.  Subhanallah, how even in the delay there is khair and you can almost see how Allah is working on you, bettering you for the next chapter of your life.  A chapter that includes an answered dua of yours. And so while your dua is coming to life, Allah is also preparing you for it.  In today’s episode, I sit down with a dear friend of mine, Halima Jama. Not only is she a talented photographer but she is the type of sister that is always right on time with her words of encouragement. She is the friend who will send you a reminder at 2am letting you know how much you are loved. And for me she is a reminder of Allah’s mercy.  And in our discussion Halima reminds us that two things can be true - we can grieve what we had hoped to be and we can be grateful for what is right in this moment.  In the process of holding on and believing that relief is being sent our way from Allah, we have to also come to terms that there will be setbacks and loss along the way.  Every single thing that happens to us, is happening for us and it’s all part of the most intricate puzzle known to mankind and that is God’s Plan. Let that sink in - look back at how things in the past have unfolded and how you had become grateful for the way that things worked out. How every detail and every single event happened in the way that Allah had written. Look at how meticulous God is - how He creates every single thing with a purpose and you are no different. In today’s conversation we are reminded that our life story is in the palms of Allah. Our life story is in the hands of our Creator. Our life story is being handled by the most Merciful and loving beings we will ever come to know. Enjoy and follow the pod on Instagram: @unsweetenedandunfiltered Follow Halima Jama on Instagram: @halimajama Check out Halima's work: Click here