If you’ve rarely been handed things on a golden plate, then you may have subconsciously, over the years, developed a precious skill: resourcefulness. Solid and strong. Perhaps you are yet to grasp how valuable and transferable that skill is. And yet to even label it as strength. Resourcefulness; to make do with what you have. To make do somehow. To fight for each day, so that you and whom you love can live and smile and savour life and Divine Blessings. Long ago, you stopped waiting for someone to come save you. And without even realizing it fully, you decided: we will make it work. With the Almighty Himself and Him Alone.
Now, this resourcefulness is not the kind our minds usually go back to. Not the physical, typical kind. Your resourcefulness delves deep into various domains, which makes it even more admirable. While for you, it simply feels like doing what is needed to be done, if you pause for a moment and think about it, it’s one of the most transferable skills there is. Even if this resourcefulness stemmed from tough circumstances, you need to now make sure to use it for its lifelong advantage.
This kind of resourcefulness is an interwoven phenomenon of mental adaptability (“we’ll figure it out as we go”). This adaptability stems from deep tawakkul when you decided that “we’ll make it work with Allah and Allah Alone”, that He will help us, and you carried a certainty that nothing could break. In front of a Lord Who appreciates those who trust in Him. Also remember, it was not trust alone. “We’ll make it work” was an inseparable part of your plan. You tied your camel and trusted in Allah. You fought, did you not, and it was not simply waiting for a miracle.
You fought for everyday, which demonstrates sabr (patience) where you don’t passively “bear” it but proactively face it the best you can. This carries also emotional endurance (“let’s keep going even if it feels incredibly hard”). What happens to you is from qadr: predestination. The pens have been lifted, and the pages have dried. You accepted it and responded with resourcefulness, which is the very purpose of what is written in your life– for you.
Thereafter, you were resolved in taking it further. As meaningful as your journey so far was, you sheltered others under your wing of mercy and kindness, making what was an “ordeal” a win purely and completely. You felt a natural sense of responsibility for others thinking:“we’ll make sure to care for those with us as well, despite our own situation”. Just for yourself to survive did not feel enough to you, so you spread the new-found security and the strength you achieved to cover others too applying ihsan whilst protecting them carefully from a pain you knew well. So they can live, love, and worship Him freer. A beautiful and complete victory. And a beautiful spillover of strength.
It is worth bearing in mind the strong foundation of this resourcefulness and understanding that there are purposes for which it was built. These purposes may not be clear right away, or perhaps only a glimpse is visible now. Regardless, carry this strength forward. Look at your past struggles with shukr (gratitude) for the powerful path they forged. May your efforts be blessed.
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