u/Maleficent-Grade3307

Hi everyone,
I recently came across some information about Ásíyih Khánum (Navváb), the wife of Bahá’u’lláh and the mother of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and I realized how little I actually know about her.
I was honestly surprised, because even in my own Bahá’í community I had hardly ever heard stories about her or about what kind of person she was. Considering everything she went through alongside Bahá’u’lláh and the fact that she was the mother of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá I imagine she must have been a truly remarkable person.
Does anyone know of books, letters, historical accounts, or stories about her life, her character, and her relationship with Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá?

Hi everyone,
I’m a youth Bahá’í who will be pioneering to another country, so I’ve recently stepped back from many of my responsibilities.

Over the years, I’ve dedicated a huge part of my life to serving my community. Some of my roles have been quite time-consuming, including serving in cluster-level institutions, serving as the chair of a Local Spiritual Assembly, representing the Bahá’í community in an interreligious forum, tutoring Ruhi courses, organizing service projects, and taking on many other responsibilities. Since becoming a Bahá’í, I honestly feel like I’ve poured almost all of my free time into service.

Over the past few weeks, I unexpectedly became part of a group of friends, and we’ve been spending time together almost every day. It made me realize that I may have missed out on many experiences outside of my faith community—friendships, spontaneous evenings, and simply being a young person with a group of friends.

I’m not questioning my faith, and I’m not unhappy with the choices I’ve made. I’m simply reflecting on the opportunity cost, especially now that I’m about to move to another country to pioneer. These thoughts have been on my mind a lot lately.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? How did you reconcile dedicating so much of your life to your faith and service while also wanting a fuller social life outside of that circle?