Thankfulness

I had a strange kind of a day yesterday, I often feel spaced out and out of sorts when I have a lot to do and don’t break it down into chunks to stop it overwhelming me. I had a long to-do list to get the housekeeping in order, but an utter disinclination to getting started.

I usually start the day by asking Allah (SWT) in my Fajr (dawn) prayer to make the day a good and productive one, for me to fulfil my role on earth and for the day to benefit me in the world and the next.

By midday, I hadn’t done much except eat ice-cream. I slapped myself (not literally) into getting myself into gear and on my way to pick up the groceries for dinner, called my mum to ask her if I should make enough for her too (her hand is still no good). She suggested I bring the groceries over and we cook together. I had a long and pleasant evening at her place with plates of rice, creamy boneless chicken curry and tandoori chicken, although by the end of the evening I think everyone wanted to tie my boys up (In hindsight I realise I should have given them a bit more attention and provided an outlet for their energy other than trying to wrestle with me).

So far so good, but a few bits of news and some reflection put me in a tearful state of mind last night. Hubby came home from a meeting at the masjid last night with the news that they have managed to secure a site for a madrassah about five minutes walk from us. I have been praying for a very long time for something to crop up regarding teaching my boys Quran and this is an answer to my prayers. The teacher will be provided by another masjid which was too far for us to get to every day, but which is serviced by a number of scholars and imams and has a long waiting list at the moment anyway.

At the same time I have been making a banner for someone. I almost had it finished and managed to wreck it, I was mortified. I had promised to send it out soon. I made dua before my Isha (night) prayer as I was feeling too down to concentrate and I had a flash of inspiration. I will be making the banner again tonight in far less time and with more joy as I won’t have to create a new set of lettering (pics to follow insh’Allah). I think I will get the kids to join in and help.

I was standing on my prayer mat and still hadn’t managed to start actually praying when something else came to mind which brought together my interest in coaching, personal development, self-expression, creativity and writing. I had to grab pen and paper and start writing. I felt truly and utterly inspired, if I manage to make something come out of this, I will share insh’Allah.

Between the madrassah, banner and the flash of creative inspirations, I was feeling very buoyed, positive and peaceful by the time I got to praying salah, I actually managed to concentrate and went to bed extremely grateful and peaceful. It was a reminder to me, to keep asking, to be patient, to trust in Allah (SWT) because all of the answers lie with him in the end.