Stop and Stare...

I often think that life can sometimes pass me by … I spend so much time focusing on the things that I can’t do, than focusing on the things that are right in front of me … I’m not entirely sure why that is …

I think it just might be my undervaluing attitude … I get like that from time-to-time when I feel like I just might not be doing enough … or, when I fear ‘success’ for me has come and gone … I read this quote once and I have to wholeheartedly agree … it says, “...too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are …”

I say it so often that you should just be happy being yourself, yet I struggle with that daily. I wish sometimes that I could see where I’m at and look back from where I was and then realize that life has kept moving forward … life and the world have kept spinning round, at a rapid pace, yet I’ve just been stopping and staring at the ‘failures’ without even taking a glance at the successes …

Hmmm … I just don’t understand the thought process … I digress ….

In the Heart of the World

I’ve been thinking about Mother Theresa lately. I suppose I’ve always been fascinated with her life, her amazingly selfless life.

What a remarkable woman she was. She never wanted to be recognized, but her compassion couldn’t go unnoticed. What a TRUE woman of character and humility; what a TRUE woman of beauty and grace…

There is a book I’m reading called “In the Heart of the World”. It’s compiled with thoughts, stories, and prayers that Mother Theresa once wrote. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to read the words of such a TRUE servant of Christ; a TRUE depiction of what we ALL should strive to attain: TRUE Selflessness and Sacrifice.

The following are just a few excerpts that I can’t but help, share with you:

“We will never know how much just a simple smile will do.”

“…be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today, let us begin.”

“In the silence of the heart, God speaks. If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you. Then you will know that you are nothing. It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself. Souls of prayer are souls of great silence.

“Like Jesus, we belong to the whole world, living not for ourselves, but for others. The joy of the Lord is our strength.”

“Seeking the face of God in everything, everyone, everywhere, all the time, and seeing His hand in every happening – that is contemplation in the heart of the world.”

“Every act of love is a work of peace, no matter how small.”

“There are many people who can do big things, but there are very few people who will do the small things.”

“Love, to be real, must cost – it must hurt – it must empty us of self.”

“I feel that we too often focus on the negative aspects of life, on what is bad. If we were more willing to see the good and the beautiful things that surround us, we would be able to transform our families. From there, we would change our next-door neighbors or city. We would be able to bring peace and love to our world, which hungers so much for these things.”

“There are thousands of people dying for a piece of bread. There are thousands upon thousands who die for a little bit of love. My thoughts often run to you who suffer, and I offer your sufferings, which are so great, while mine are so small. Those of you, who are sick, when things are hard, take refuge in Christ’s heart. There my own heart will find with you strength and love.”

I wonder what it would be like if we lived in a world, where ALL people saw others the way Mother Theresa did…

…the way Jesus continues to SEE each one of us? I’m amazed that He still loves us…that He still loves me…