Mother Teresa
Courtesy: www.documentarytube.com
Have you ever seen the sweet commercial of the overworked mom who keeps responding to her family, either their situations or their messes with the question of “What/How?” Sometimes, it’s a “what” as in, “What’s going on?” or “How did this happen?” Other times though, it is the more encouraging, “How did it go?” But written between the scenes of the never ending treadmill of the day-in, day-out exhaustion is a deep caring that goes beyond her words.¹
I remember experiencing all of that with my children and now that they are parents, I see it in their faces as they are raising their own. My granddaughter, sweet Lucy, only seven months old, is already full of gusto and a go-get-them outlook on life. She happily embraces whatever is in front of her—without even the slightest hint of a care, giving it all she’s got.
And my grandson, Henry, almost 3 is the professor. Analytical, methodical, verbal beyond belief, and oh-so-very-precise—he studies things before he jumps in. I keep telling my children, their parents, they’d better put on their running shoes now and be prepared to leave them on a good long time as they will be forever catching up to these two. Each day that I get to be with Henry or Lucy, I look with happy anticipation to see what they will do next. Watching glimpses of who they are, of who they will be, as their personalities peek through more and more, gives me such delight. And I can’t imagine saying to them one day, “For you to be happy and fulfilled, you need to find your purpose in life.”
Now, that is not to say, that there are not wonderful things we can do with our lives. Nor that we should wait idly by for life to blossom in front of us. But perhaps instead of putting our efforts into finding our purposes, our first priority should be heavenward. Look at Mother Teresa. I don’t think her first thought when setting out to care for the orphaned, hungry, and poor was, “I’m going to find my purpose in life.” Rather, what she did probably was born out of a love for God. Living vertically, her eyes and heart on Him, instead of horizontally, looking at and comparing herself to others, she lived her life fully and with great passion.
The Bible tells us that the first and greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, with all our soul and all our mind. And the second is like it, to love our neighbor as ourselves. (See Matthew 22: 37-39 NKJV.) He doesn’t tell us this because He needs us to do this for Him, but as a loving Father tells us, knowing what is best and for our good.
God delights in us and wants us to delight in Him. Psalm 37:4 (ESV) tells us, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Not like a bargain, that if we will do this, He will do that, but more that He will show, even to ourselves, what is hidden—those things in our hearts which will make us truly happy—our purpose.
It is my prayer then for Lucy and Henry, that instead of searching to find elusive dreams, that they (and us too) will first learn to love God.
In Him,
Kimberly
¹The Whirlpool Every day, care™ What/How Laundry Commercial Official Site: http://www.whirlpool.com/everydaycare/
