Parallel Beauty
With hardship comes ease.
Surah Ash-Sharh 94:6
This verse is a powerful reminder, almost like a promise, that with every difficulty there is always a parallel beauty. During challenging times, it can be hard to notice the silver lining. The issue at hand may pull us into its darkness like a force of gravity. Sometimes, in that darkness, we simply cannot see; our nervous systems are on fire, and our minds become clouded with fear and doubt.
Science tells us that the human brain naturally leans toward negativity. A network called the Default Mode Network becomes active when we drift into worry, replay the past, or imagine fearful futures. It is a built-in mechanism meant to protect us, yet it can also make the world appear darker than it really is.
Yet if we shift our focus, we can find a glimpse of light alongside the struggle. Even death can bring families closer together, or a financial hardship can lead one to reconnect deeply with their soul and move away from material distractions.
While we may feel alone, in truth, God meets us in our suffering. The verse “with hardship comes ease” is reflected beautifully in nature, stars shine brightest in the depth of the night’s darkness, and the delicate rose comes with its thorns.
Look closely, tune into this parallel beauty, and discover the hidden blessings within the challenges. It only takes a moment to notice what is usually unseen.
“Too many people miss the silver lining because they’re expecting Gold”
Mauriee Setter
Take a moment to reflect on a current challenge in your life.
Feel its weight without resistance, acknowledge the difficulty, uncertainty, or pain.
Speak to God as if confiding in a close friend.
Whisper: “Ya Allah, You are Al-Baṣīr, The All-Seeing. You witness my struggle.”
Trust that He sees you completely, even when no one else does.
Try to Look closely at the parallel gift of the challenge, it may be a lesson, an act of kindness or a deepening of faith.
Write down three small ways beauty exists within this hardship. If nothing comes to mind, that’s okay, sometimes ease is simply knowing God is with you.
Throughout the day, when the weight returns, remind yourself:
“With hardship, there is ease.”
“Standing outside we saw sinister clouds glowing in the west and the whole sky alive with clouds of ever-changing shapes and colors, from steel blue to blood red. The desolate grey mud huts provided a sharp contrast, while the puddles on the muddy ground reflected the glowing sky. Then, after minutes of moving silence, one prisoner said to another, “How beautiful the world could be…”
Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Emil Frank
“I can hardly believe I’ve been living without use of my hands or legs for almost 50 years. I still look back and wonder, how did I make it to this point? And how have I done it, for the most part, with a smile? Even after all this time, total paralysis still seems impossible.
But with God all things are possible. And whenever I try to explain how I have “arrived” at this point, I shake my head in amazement.
It has everything to do with God and his grace that sustains—not just over the long haul, but grace given in tiny moments, like stepping-stones leading you from one tick of the clock to the next. And the beauty of God’s grace is that it squeezes those hard moments together.”
The Scars that have Shaped me – Vaneetha Rendall Risner
