Today, I’m grateful for yard work.
Yard work, you say? You bet: it’s good, honest exercise that delivers very quick and beautiful results, and it gives me a good opportunity to reflect on Allah azza wa jall.
Alhamdulillah, Allah blessed my darling, adorable wife and I with a beautiful home, with a decent-sized back yard, and we’ve added a few fruit trees and vegetable patches, and are slowly, but surely making it a home.
Allah has made us all vicegerents of the earth: He made it, and He has control over all of it, but we have to put in some work too. Today, for example, my work will consist of mowing the afore-mentioned back yard and weeding the vegetable patches. God willing, I’ll also recycle, and limit my driving, and combine trips, and walk rather than drive when I can, in an attempt to do a little something to offset all the harm we collectively cause the environment.
And, like taking care of the planet, we’re also responsible for our bodies: we, ourselves, our limbs and brains and hands are all gifts from God, and we’ve been charged with taking care of them. I’m not very good at exercising, and so Alhamdulillah, I’m grateful to have the opportunity to get some sweat on.
So, I’m thankful for yard work, and may Allah guide me to remain thankful, even as I get out there later and start to work…
