Somewhere around Day 4 of Everest Base Camp Trek, everything became too much for me to handle on my own. Then a small voice spoke up from inside me. It was time call in the ultimate favor. “Oh God, if you help me make it to Base Camp and make it back safely, I’ll make pilgrimage to your Sacred House.” In my imagination, a small voice whispered back gently: “Okay.” I won’t say everything became easy after that but oh how magical it is to have something beautiful to look forward to *after* the thing you’re currently looking forward to :) That small promise meant so much to me and I crafted all sorts of stories in my head. The centerpiece was that if God loved me, He would love to see me visit His House (“Indeed whomever longs for the meeting with God, God longs for the meeting with them”). And every day, as I overcame one obstacle after another, I felt the love and mercy of God enveloping me as God brought me closer to Base Camp and closer to the Holy Land. After finishing the trek, and surviving the worst floods to hit Nepal in 100 years, I flew to Dubai where I stayed for a week, recovering and gorging myself on Five Guys. I had intended to keep my Umrah secret (“it’s private”) to preserve the sincerity of my intentions. But when the weekend approached and I had no intention of flying home, I could tell my family and loved ones were getting frustrated. My dear friend told me not to be silly, to tell my family. “Let them share in your happiness.” So I called them on the train from Makkah to Madinah. They were so happy. My dad even told me he was proud of me. Grateful that in my pursuit of the highest mountain on Earth that I hadn’t forgotten there was the One Higher Still who made it all possible. (“Wo hi to hai jo nizaam e hasti chala raha hai.”) Umrah was a beautiful whirlwind and I fell in prostration in front of the Kaabah, crying my eyes out, remembering the thousands of feet I had climbed, from Namche to Dingbouche to Pengbouche to Gorak Shep. What if it had all been God’s plan to lead me back to Him all along. What if God had sent me 17,000 feet above sea level to awaken a long dormant voice inside me that would bring me back to Him ❤️
