During these testing times, I'd chosen to take up a (rather fast-becoming) hobby of mine. Gardening! And it's not just the satisfaction of seeing your seeds germinate or harvesting your own food but there has been so much research made to find out why gardening brings calmness and tranquility to our souls and minds. (Psst! Scroll to the end of this post for a link to an article about this!)
So, I've decided to make a post noting down four points as to how gardening increased my faith (long story short, it was by way of reflection!) :
1. I realised that our provision truly comes from the sky.
This rain comes down so that plants grow and bear fruit. Without this rain, how and what would we be able to eat? We are indeed dependent on the One who sends down the rain.
"And who sends down rain from the sky in measured amounts, and We revive thereby a dead land - thus will you be brought forth -..." [Surah 43: ayah 11]
2. That each creature has its portion of provision.
My poppy had been annihilated by hungry birds and one of my bulbs was taken by a squirrel. But however much upset I was that day - I couldn't stay mad for I knew that it was their provision and not mine.
Say, "Indeed, my Lord extends provision for whom He wills of His servants and restricts [it] for him. But whatever thing you spend [in His cause] - He will compensate it; and He is the best of providers." [Surah 34: ayah 39]
3. Certainty in the day of recompense.
A seed turns into a plant and that plant produces flowers and fruit, which we then harvest. Our actions we do now we will see in the next life. So what we sow now we will reap later. And this has been my motto for everything recently!
"The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies [His reward] for whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing." [Surah 2: ayah 261]
4. That, however morbid the thought, one day I will decompose just as leaves and other organic matter does.
Being up close to the soil, digging, looking at all the creepy-crawlies, gave me the realisation that one day, this dirt I'm standing on will be around me, on all sides
"And present to them the example of the life of this world, [its being] like rain which We send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth mingles with it[1] and [then] it becomes dry remnants, scattered by the winds. And Allah is ever, over all things, Perfect in Ability." [Surah 18: ayah 45]
[1] Absorbs it, growing lush and thick.
Bibliography:
https://quran.com/
Image of sky my own
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/why-gardening-is-so-good-for-you_uk_5ba35be2e4b0181540da36ee?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJ2bRqVe6r5p5cPtpUUyH2AFj1IbFMh3kSAdv__H6BE1Joib6cTPeiK2nsMztPxit_zBFK0QcrTv5NRC9PATojbEplR4e4DzJGxgmVKUKbhCi5JMArjs7qZ_pYLUpCpuM3RylZ-wH-UHQmIK5E3stRzrh6rexN2-4sMiyyaXOY49
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