DAILYREFLECTION
And give good news to those who are patient.
Deep within Carlsbad Caverns, an extraordinary process unfolds in almost perfect silence. Soda straws—delicate calcite formations, grow through the patience of geological time, forming as single water drops deposit microscopic layers of calcium carbonate. Each hollow tube advances just one millimeter every 100-130 years, yet over millennia, these patient formations can reach six feet in length, creating some of the cave's most breathtaking displays.
What makes these formations remarkable is their incredible fragility combined with unwavering persistence. A single careless touch can destroy what took thousands of years to create, yet they continue growing despite darkness, isolation, and seemingly impossible slowness of progress. Each drop of mineral-rich water that forms at their tip represents another tiny increment of growth, invisible to human perception but significant in the grand architecture of the cave.
The soda straws teach us that the most magnificent spiritual structures are built through patient, consistent accumulation of small efforts over long periods. Unlike human constructions that can be rushed with more workers or better tools, these natural masterpieces require surrender to divine timing. They achieve their delicate beauty precisely because they cannot be hurried.
Allah promises good news to those who show patience during trials and spiritual development. Like cave formations that create lasting beauty through microscopic daily deposits, our character develops through countless small choices to respond with sabr rather than frustration.
Reflect On This
Where in our life are we rushing results that require patience instead?
Share your reflections in the poll at the end of the email.
WATERMELONWATCH
Arjwan Al-Dahini, a Palestinian child, who doctors say suffers from severe acute malnutrition, sits on a hospital bed while being fed by her mother, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip.
Tents flooded by winter storms are forcing families to choose between unsafe damaged buildings and leaky makeshift shelters, deepening health risks in overcrowded sites. Even so, relief teams and neighbors are pooling tarps, blankets, and quick repairs to keep children warm through the worst nights.
Gaza no longer meets the IPC threshold for “famine” after improved aid and commercial food access since the October ceasefire, but large parts of the Strip remain in emergency levels of hunger. The fragile progress is being reinforced by food assistance programs scaling back up, including WFP-supported nutrition and recovery services.
Aid access has increased in volume since the ceasefire, yet movement constraints and damaged infrastructure still slow deliveries inside Gaza, especially in the north. In that gap, UNRWA and partners are expanding shelter support and temporary learning spaces so children can keep learning even while displaced.
QURANCORNER
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ
Say, “He is Allah, [who is] One,”
Qul huwa Allāhu 'Aḥad
"Qul": A command to the Prophet ﷺ to proclaim this essential truth.
"Huwa Allāh": Affirms Allah’s identity, He alone is the One true God.
"Aḥad" (One): Indicates absolute oneness, unlike anything else, indivisible, unique in His essence and attributes.