Why I Now Understand Calling It a Reversion, As-Salaam-Alaikum

As-Salaam-Alaikum. I used to find it odd when people said Muslims “revert” - coming from my time as an Orthodox Christian for about eight years, I thought learning new prayers, language, and ritual was just like any other conversion. Christians had set prayer patterns, fasting rules, and their own practices, so I assumed it was the same challenge. But after accepting Islam and saying the shahada, I’ve felt a shift I can’t really describe other than relief - like finally being able to breathe. The motions of salah aren’t hard for me, even though I don’t know Arabic fluently, and performing wudu has made me more attentive to cleanliness. The nights after I embraced Islam I noticed bad inclinations and influences weaken or leave, and prayer genuinely calms my heart and body. I actually look forward to it now. When I was Orthodox I tried hard to pray regularly and follow fasts, but I often felt distant from God, more inclined to sin, and increasingly frustrated with prayer. In Islam the same outward effort doesn’t feel heavier - rather, Allah made it easier for my soul and turned my heart toward Him. I now expect Ramadan to bring benefits similar to Lent but greater and with more ease for my spiritual state, insha’Allah. Having experienced life as a lifelong Catholic, then Orthodox, and now Muslim, I finally understand why people say they “revert.” It doesn’t feel like taking on something new so much as returning to what the heart finds natural under Allah’s mercy.