Have You Heard of Dawood Ibrahim?

Dawood Ibrahim

Have you ever heard of Dawood Ibrahim?

Dawwod Ibrahim is a 15 year old Pakistani boy.  You have probably never heard of him, but after you read his story, I hope you never forget him.

Last January, I was making a vision board, and came across this quote: “Trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.” This has been an important meme for me. To help me remember it, I immediately cut it out and pasted it on my board. 

So much of our angst in life flows from struggling to be somewhere we are not and somehow feeling that we aren’t quite where we should be.Trusting that you are exactly where you are meant to be curbs all of the second guessing and self-doubt. When you decide to stay home instead of going somewhere, you are exactly where you are meant to be. When you continue to feel angry or sad over something from the past, even though you think you should already be over it, you are exactly where you are meant to be. This is liberating! It lifts a heavy burden from your shoulders and opens the door for acceptance and forgiveness.

So what does this have to do with Dawood Ibrahim?

On 16 December 2014, Taliban gunmen conducted the worst terrorist attack that had ever occurred in Pakistan. They entered a school in Peshawar and opened fire, killing 145 people, including 132 schoolchildren.  The children ranged between eight and eighteen years of age.

Dawood Ibrahim would have been one of the children killed in the classroom, but for the fact that his alarm did not work that morning. Dawood missed school because he overslept that day. He is now the sole survivor of the entire 9th grade class.  

Dawood was exactly where he needed to be that day. This isn’t to say that he will have an easy time ahead. In fact, I cannot begin to imagine how hard it will be for him to come to terms with all of this.

Yet, Dawood reminds me to trust. Trust when the alarm doesn’t work, or the car breaks down or I’m running late. Trust when I think I’m behind where I should be in some aspect of my life. This year, I am putting a picture of Dawood Ibrahim on my board.