Salam everyone, how do new Muslims keep from feeling alone and worn out? Sometimes it's like I'm in my own little bubble and no one really gets it.
As-salamu alaykum, hope you're all doing well insha'Allah. I'm a pretty new Muslim and honestly, I've been struggling a bit. I've kept my deen mostly to myself because of my job and my family-they're Christian and have confronted me a bunch, basically denouncing my "suspected" conversion. They've kind of figured it out from my habits, but I never made a big announcement. I just don't have the energy to handle their arguments and pushback. Alhamdulillah, I ended up with a really strong, righteous Muslim woman, and my mom actually loves her, but she thinks I only reverted because of her since my practice became more noticeable around the time they met. The truth is, I secretly started practicing months before we even talked, and yes, she's helped me a ton-with my shahada, teaching me the Arabic alphabet and some phrases since it's her native language, and she's even showing me how to pray now. Her family is really warm toward me but they worry about my own family, especially about possibly influencing our future children religiously. Honestly, I feel like I have to distance myself from my family because of all the stress, the fact they'll probably never accept Islam, and they constantly make me fear my decision by talking about eternal damnation. On top of that, I once told someone I thought was a friend about our faith, and he ended up making awful racist comments about her, so I cut him off right away. I don't fit the typical "look" either-I'm a white American-so I always feel out of place and judged when Islam comes up, and it just doesn't compute for a lot of people, so I've just kept it private. Another thing is Ramadan. My job is super physically demanding with labor and heat, and even though I tried fasting during work, I'd get dizzy, nauseated, and lose focus, which is dangerous with machinery. I hydrate a lot the night before and in the morning, but I sweat so much. So, I haven't been fasting on weekdays when I work, only on weekends, and I plan to make up the missed days slowly before next Ramadan. I really wish I had people to break my fast with-it makes me feel like I've failed at Ramadan. Yeah, basically, I wish there was more support around. I feel like I'm doing this solo most of the time, and it gets lonely. My wife keeps me sane and grounded in my faith alhamdulillah. I want more friends who understand, and I'm trying to gather the courage to visit the masjid, but my anxiety is really holding me back. Jazakum Allahu khayran for reading, this has been bottled up for a while.