I went to the Utah County Health Clinic yesterday to get a prescription for malaria medicine...whoa, let me clarify: I do not have malaria:) it's a prescription to prevent me from getting malaria while i'm in India and Thailand. Anyway, while I was there, I decided to get a new typhoid vaccination as well. I don't know what having typhoid really feels like, but for about four hours after getting the shot, I thought maybe they'd given it to me...actually, didn't that Jenner guy discover that you had to give someone a tiny dose of smallpox in order to make them immune to smallpox? My arm still aches a little, but the other unpleasantness is gone. I guess four hours of discomfort is a lot better than the real thing would be.
On the up-side, while I was laying in bed feeling yucky, I got to watch the Catholic TV channel. You're right, I'm not Catholic, but I stopped because they were telling the story of Mother Theresa. What an amazing Woman with an inspiring story! Her parents instilled in her, at a very young age, the importance of making change for good in the world. Her father was involved in the fight for freedom in Albania, and after his death, even though the family was nearly destitute, they opened their home to the hungry and homeless . Theresa's (then named Agnes) mother taught her children always to see the face of Jesus in everyone.
She loved her family in Albania, but felt deeply in her heart that it was her mission to go to India to serve the people there. And she did. She started out in Calcutta, teaching at a a very comfortable Catholic school for upper-class girls. She enjoyed the work there, but knew that her true purpose for being in India was to serve those who could not help themselves. So she left the school/convent, made a vow of poverty, and went to live amongst the people.
She wasn't quite sure where to start because there were so many people to help, so she began teaching two small homeless children how to read in the street. Soon, the numbers increased to 40. People heard about what she was doing and donated supplies and desks. She wanted to help the sick, so she went to hospitals to gain hands on training about how to treat wounds, clean sores, administer medicine, etc. She was not afraid to go amongst the poorest of the poor, the sickest of the sick, and the most rejected in society. On one occasion, she found a dying woman in the street and carried her to a hospital for treatment. The doctors refused to help her, but Mother Theresa stood her ground and refused to leave until the woman was treated.
She begged for help from local churches, hospitals, and the government, and she received it. In 1950 she formally established the Missionaries of Charity, whose purpose was to administer to the poorest of the poor. The MC has since branched into over 133 countries.She opened schools, clinics, and places for the dying to pass away peacfully and comfortably. In 1979 she deservingly won the Nobel Peace Prize. And fianlly passed away in 1997.
What an amazing Christ-like woman!
Don't worry, I'm not about to become a nun:) I do however feel more confident about my own abilities to create change for good in the world.
Sometimes we may feel that there is so much to be done, that what we do really won't make much of a difference. We may not act at all, simply because we think that what we do won't really have an impact. Mother Theresa knew that there were millions of people in India who were starving, homeless, sick, and dying. But she didn't think about the millions all at once, just the ONE she was helping at the moment.
We all have the ability to change the world, ONE person at a time.
On the up-side, while I was laying in bed feeling yucky, I got to watch the Catholic TV channel. You're right, I'm not Catholic, but I stopped because they were telling the story of Mother Theresa. What an amazing Woman with an inspiring story! Her parents instilled in her, at a very young age, the importance of making change for good in the world. Her father was involved in the fight for freedom in Albania, and after his death, even though the family was nearly destitute, they opened their home to the hungry and homeless . Theresa's (then named Agnes) mother taught her children always to see the face of Jesus in everyone.
She loved her family in Albania, but felt deeply in her heart that it was her mission to go to India to serve the people there. And she did. She started out in Calcutta, teaching at a a very comfortable Catholic school for upper-class girls. She enjoyed the work there, but knew that her true purpose for being in India was to serve those who could not help themselves. So she left the school/convent, made a vow of poverty, and went to live amongst the people.
She wasn't quite sure where to start because there were so many people to help, so she began teaching two small homeless children how to read in the street. Soon, the numbers increased to 40. People heard about what she was doing and donated supplies and desks. She wanted to help the sick, so she went to hospitals to gain hands on training about how to treat wounds, clean sores, administer medicine, etc. She was not afraid to go amongst the poorest of the poor, the sickest of the sick, and the most rejected in society. On one occasion, she found a dying woman in the street and carried her to a hospital for treatment. The doctors refused to help her, but Mother Theresa stood her ground and refused to leave until the woman was treated.
She begged for help from local churches, hospitals, and the government, and she received it. In 1950 she formally established the Missionaries of Charity, whose purpose was to administer to the poorest of the poor. The MC has since branched into over 133 countries.She opened schools, clinics, and places for the dying to pass away peacfully and comfortably. In 1979 she deservingly won the Nobel Peace Prize. And fianlly passed away in 1997.
What an amazing Christ-like woman!
Don't worry, I'm not about to become a nun:) I do however feel more confident about my own abilities to create change for good in the world.
Sometimes we may feel that there is so much to be done, that what we do really won't make much of a difference. We may not act at all, simply because we think that what we do won't really have an impact. Mother Theresa knew that there were millions of people in India who were starving, homeless, sick, and dying. But she didn't think about the millions all at once, just the ONE she was helping at the moment.
We all have the ability to change the world, ONE person at a time.
1 comments:
Mother Theresa has always been a personal hero! Her life is astounding to me...on the days that I hear myself whining about not enough "me" time or the chores that never seem to be done or the kids that always need something, I often stop and think about her life and service! Truly amazing...thank you for the reminder!
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