Bøger af Donn Hutchison

Faith is like a tree. It is rooted in our religious tradition and molded by our experiences. It provides shade from the heat and a shield from the rain. It reaches arms toward the heavens and is a strong wall against life's storms.This devotional focuses on the responsibility we have, no matter what our religious affiliation, to stand for what we see as right, even when it is difficult. We believe, or at least I do, that God/Allah loves each one of us and has crafted us in a specific way. We return that love to our fellow human beings. Whatever we may do with our lives, this is our responsibility.

Yasmeen and Kareem have kept their love a secret for five years. Now that Kareem is graduating from college, they decide to get married. In a society where arranged marriages are still the norm, all they have to do is convince their families they would make a good match. Will their love survive family pressure, prejudice, and the dictates of tradition? In this conclusion to the Mansur family saga, there is estrangement and reconciliation, disappointment and hope, secrets that are revealed and secrets that are kept hidden, and ultimately, the notion that nothing just 'happens by chance' but depends on one's naseeb (destiny). One lives the life that is written on one's forehead.

Each of our lives has been full of journeys; many have been the same, yet uniquely different as they have been our journeys. I have learned that people are people, they love, they disagree, and they want the best for their children. I have learned that there is a truth that is universal, no matter what one's religious affiliation, and that God is present in each of our journeys from the beginning, to the end.

A collection of reflections that offer a refreshing glimpse into the teachings of Islam that will be familiar to any faithful heart.

Mohammad is warned that he is going to the States to study; that he needs to concentrate on getting his degree and that he is not to get involved with an American-Christian co-ed. He smiles at the absurdity of the warning, as he has never dated, never kissed a girl, and never even held a girl's hand. Then he meets Sarah. Not only is she an American co-ed, but she has a Methodist mother and a Jewish father named Goldman. There are hurdles to jump, obstacles to overcome, and convincing to do, as the magnetism between Mohammad and Sarah draws them unavoidably together. The chasms of culture, language, and religion seem insurmountable; Mohammad's mother has picked out the perfect Palestinian wife for him; Sarah's parents are not too keen on the possibility of a Moslem son-in-law named Mohammad and would rather she marry the boy next door.It is a story of prejudice and compromise, of ignorance and understanding, of severing ties and unity. Neither Mohammad nor Sarah questions their love for each other, but they do wonder if love is enough.

Whether Christian, Muslim, or Jew, whatever label we wear, we all learn to submit ourselves to God and trust that what He has planned for our lives is right and good. Whether we refer to the Divine as God, or Allah, or Yahweh, He is the One and the Same. There will be times that we don't understand what He has written into our lives, but He is always there watching over us, caring for us, loving us. That is the reassuring call from the mosque, and that is the reassurance that whispers to my spirit in the poetic lines of Hafez and Rumi, in the translated words from the Quran, in the quotes from Sufism. Throughout the years I have underlined, highlighted, and marked passages and lines that have spoken to my spirit. I want to share these scraps of wisdom- these Reflections - that have polished the lamp of my heart.

The Well is a love story between two teens who have never spoken. When Omar, the night of the wedding, lifts the veils that cover his bride's face with a sword, she is terrified; but he is gentle, kind, and considerate. Thus begins the love story of Omar and Nijmeh. It will carry them through the terrifying days of the nakbe; the tragedy of a people displaced from all they know, adjustment to exile, to life in a refugee camp, and ultimately to military occupation. Sewn into the tapestry of their life will be the cat-and-mouse game of occupier and occupied and imprisonment; tragic death and heartache; there is compromise of principles; there is immovable faith, and there is also inexplicable joy. It is a story based on the reality of what it meant to be Palestinian during those turbulent years of 1947-1987.

It is the momentous year of 1917; the end of four hundred years of Ottoman Rule, the beginning of the British Mandate, and marks the birth of Salma's seventeenth child - Hasna. Not only is Hasna a girl born into a society that prizes boys, she is cursed with red hair, blue eyes and freckles. They set her apart, leave her excluded, and are viewed with suspicion in a society where superstitions are a part of daily life. Her father refers to her only as the girl; even her mother acknowledges that Hasna is not very pretty. Still, Hasna is smart, capable and hardworking - tenacious of life, though married off at thirteen and a half to a boy she has never seen, she finds love and contentment in marriage, motherhood and family. Peasants never have it easy, and this tumultuous time in Palestine's history certainly makes life harder. Life is uncertain and tragic, but also filled with love, laughter and stories.

Mohammad and Sarah are both offered jobs to work for the UN which prompts the family to return to Palestine. Mohammad believes it's "just what the kids need." The older children are enrolled in the Ramallah Friends School and reluctantly become a part of a minority - the English-Speaking. Though Palestinian, they speak an accented Arabic, have an American mother, and were raised in the States. They wish they hadn't been forced to move. There are subtle changes as Mohammad finds himself slipping into the accepted definition of an Arab male; Sarah wonders if Mohammad should have married a Palestinian, and their daughter Yasmeen, chafes under the imposed restrictions; she looks too American and is encouraged to cover her hair. There are adjustments, and compromises; there are secrets to be kept, and truths to embroider; through it all, there is love and family and the belief that everything is part of a Divine plan, and God makes no mistakes.