Winter is on it's way to the Mother City

Sunday morning dawned cold & windy. Upon waking up, I listened to the rain falling outside.

My first instinct was to grab a book & get one of the kids to make me a cup of tea or hot chocolate. Since this was not possible because it was 4am, the kids would certainly not be up at that ungodly hour!! And I was too warm & snugly to leave my retreat. So, I grabbed the book I am currently reading & curled myself up tighter under the covers. Bliss, I tell you!!

If I could have remained where I was for the rest of the day, I would have, but there were chores to be done, shopping to do & food to be made. DANG!!

On dressing for work this morning I had decided on the last minute to wear boots & a shawl just in case. I didn't regret my decision. It was sooooo cold. Looks like the sandals & open shoes as well as the summer dresses will have to make way for warmer goodies.

On another note, in my attempt to stay focused & keep positive thoughts, I have been following a blog I had discovered while reading Elisa's blog. I had mentioned her blog in one of my notes on FB. RG's blog is a breath of fresh air. Her enthusiasm & acceptance of her situation is awe inspiring. She has launched her first book, discussing her battle with the big C. I do so wish that the book would be translated in English, it's written in Bahasa.

And then, Elisa's post today made me shed many tears. Making me realise too, that there was something that I had to make peace with. Just as she has finally accepted the passing of a loved one. There was Shaheema's post last week, that spoke of the same thing, of having to let go of the past so as to accept the future.

I remember a story that was told by Sheikh Faaik Gamieldien in one of his classes. And as he recounted the story, I couldn't help but think of my distant friend. The story goes like this:

There was a very well learned Sheikh & he was so loved by his students. He had been married over 30 years when Allah took his wife away. Consumed by his grief, he became a recluse. Refusing to teach & to see anybody on a social level. His students became very concerned about him as they missed him terribly. One specific student thought of a way to budge him out of seclusion.

The student went to see him about a question he needed answers on. He had a dispute between 2 friends to solve. One friend entrusted a certain amount of money to the other. The agreement they had was that when the money was needed, the trustee would return it. Many years passed & the money was never asked back, so the friend decided to use it. Thinking that his friend had forgotten about the money entrusted to him.

Then one day, his friend arrived at the trustee's home wanting the money back. He tried reasoning with his friend, explaining that he had used the money, thinking he had forgotten about it. The student's question to the Sheikh was: 'Does he still owe him the money??' And the Sheikh's reply was the affirmative because the money was not his to have, it was entrusted to him.

The Sheikh then realised what the student was trying to tell him with regards to the passing of his wife. All we have on this earth is not ours, it has been entrusted to us by the Almighty. Everything belongs to Allah & everything will return to Him at it's given time, no more, no less.

I've had three lessons in one week. We have many mirrors to glean from, it's totally up to us to receive the message.