You can have the most precise plan mapped out that considers the minutest of details; you may even have a contingency plan for a contingency plan to make sure everything turns out the way that you expect. However, sometimes what happens is not up to you. You can make rough estimates and predict future events based on prior knowledge, but that’s only a guess. You’re ride a train thinking you know exactly where the train will let you off. Little do you know that ahead the tracks are shifted at a junction, then you wind up somewhere completely different from where you had expected.
Do not fret, the engineer in control of this railroad knows what he is doing because he created the system and monitors it. The system works, just as the Creator of the “railroad system” we live in, intends it to.
People get disappointed, upset, and even angry when they don’t get what they want. Yes, it can be frustrating but you have to realize, that for all you know, what happened is the best outcome possible. How do you know if something will be good for you? Maybe the chain of events occurring as we speak leads to new connections and new opportunities you would never have dreamed of. Think about it.
Say that you wanted to go to a different institution of learning or wanted to be hired by some other employer, but couldn’t for one reason or another. Think of all the people who you may be close to now because of that. Maybe, if you went to that other place, you wouldn’t have met your husband/wife, best friend, investor, employer, business partner or whomever.
It may seem so cliché that it hurts, but people take circumstances such as these for granted. Things may not seem to be going right, but you have to remember “Perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah knows, while you may not.” Whatever it is, be grateful (how about that, just in time for Thanksgiving).
This life is all but long. A person you know may say “See you tomorrow,” yet you can’t really be sure that you’ll actually see them. They may leave this world forever; in fact you may not be here tomorrow either. There are things you can control and others you can’t. Just purify your intentions and keep track and keep in mind of what you have and what you could do instead of what you don’t have and what you could have done.
Remember that train you took in the beginning. What if I told you that the reason the train changed course was because the engineer saw trouble ahead, so he diverted the traffic? Take the time to be thankful for the life that you have, the hardships and challenges you have faced, the decisions you had to make, and the results of your strife.
After realizing your time is limited, go do the things you said you would “do later,” because that’s a part of your plan that shouldn’t be pushed to a later time, where you may not know your state of well being. Complete those commitments that you have made. Go and find those that have wronged you and forgive them, and find those that you have wronged and make amends. This may be your only time to do so.
Above all else take the time to appreciate the one who gave you this life. You could have been born to a much different family under entirely different circumstances. Time is of the essence.
