Into the Woods...

“A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise.” ― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Last week, instead of our usual gardening routine, sister M suggested that we go hiking instead. Sister M has been on this 'eat healthy and exercise' mode, which I'm not too thrill to follow.

I'm actually allergic to exercise, at least that's what I tell myself but the episode of ending up in the emergency ward with chest pain, is not something which I want to re-live or go through again. Hence, I reluctantly realised that the time has come for me to make a change.

So, that day, sister M, sister G and myself decided to climb one of the hills near my place. The hill is surrounded by a reserved forest so it was like hiking adventure in the woods.

I arrived early at the entrance of the hill so I perched myself on a stone waiting for the other two to arrive. A couple of the hikers who passed by, looked at me cautiously before smiling, perhaps, trying to determine whether I was human or a ghostly figure that had descended from the top of the hills since I was sitting all alone, smiling like a Cheshire Cat. I suppose my smile was kinda eerie.

Anyway, we walked following the foot path until we reached a junction. It was either to go right or left and since there was no signage, we were not sure which was the best route. The last thing we wanted was to get lost in the forest!

There we were, standing right in the middle of no-where, trying to decide where to go, when an elderly guy came up to us to told us to take the right path. Immediately, I remembered a verse...

" And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you."
Quran  40:60

Dua or supplication is a unique thing. You can call upon God at any time. It doesn't have to be only during prayers. It can be while you're sitting down or driving or even when you think you are lost in a jungle. That's how easy it is to talk to God. There isn't a prescribed protocol on or when to make dua but still we sometimes fail to do it.

 “There is nothing more dear to Allah Ta’ala than a servant making dua to him.”

Hadith Tirmidhi

And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.

Quran 2:186

Anyway, the elderly uncle who is 60 years old, put the 3 of us to shame when he effortlessly climbed the steep hills without being breathless while the three of us were huffing and puffing all the way. Of course he did make us feel slightly better when he said we looked like students, which reduced us to a giggling fit. What can I say...Flattery works all the time.

To make the story short, we survived the hike and made it out in one piece, thanks to the kind-hearted uncle. I realised that I really should start taking care of myself better. After all, our bodies are only on loan to us. We are merely custodians but we are responsible for the condition of our bodies.

Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, said a strong believer was better than a weak believer.

Hadith Muslim

One thing for sure is that blessings can come in many forms. It can even come in a form of a 60 years old uncle guiding 3 clueless women through the woods...