Mother Teresa teaches us that loneliness can be beautiful.
We tend to think loneliness is a bad thing. We protect ourselves from it. We isolate ourselves because of it. How many of our issues, when you boil it down, are due to our tendency to avoid these feelings? These pangs of loneliness, fear, pain, suffering, desperation, anxiety, worry, uncertainty? How many addictions, insecurities, broken relationships, financial problems, disorders, medications and failures are rooted in how we’ve chosen (consciously or subconsciously) to respond to our loneliness? How much of this is rooted in the fact that our world tells us loneliness is bad?
Mother Teresa gives us the chance to reconsider things…..
“Before crosses used to frighten me – I used to get goose bumps at the thought of suffering – but now I embrace suffering even before it actually comes, and like this Jesus and I live in love.”
Do we think of our loneliness and suffering as opportunities to love God more intimately? As places to depend on Him?
“I have more often as my companion “darkness.” And when the night becomes very thick – and it seems to me as if I will end up in hell – then I simply offer myself to Jesus. If He wants me to go there – I am ready – but only under the condition that it really makes Him happy."
Do we see our dark places as opportunities to hand everything over? To make ourselves empty on purpose? To experience this true freedom?
Mother Teresa chose her mission knowing it would be extremely difficult. She knew the only way she would be successful was depending on God and God alone.
“To leave that what I love and expose myself to new labours and sufferings which will be great, to be the laughing stock of so many – especially religious – to cling to and choose deliberately the hard things of an Indian life – to cling to and choose loneliness and ignominy – uncertainty – and all because Jesus wants it – to live His life – to do His work in India.”
She chose loneliness and suffering. And she knew that in doing so her mission would serve two purposes: #1) It would help others desperately in need #2) It would allow her to be radically dependent on God and love Him, and as such, He would be the ultimate source for doing #1. The two go together – serving others and dependence on God. And they to together for Mother Teresa and for us.
Loneliness can be beautiful when, like Mother Teresa, we choose it and accept it as a way to love God.
Loneliness is human. This loneliness is not necessarily very complicated. We yearn for God, and will continue to, as long as we are alive on earth. This yearning goes hand and hand with some loneliness.
Loneliness is a place we can hand our lives over and find freedom through dependence. Instead of assuming the problems in our lives are something to be fixed or something that makes us bad, we can change our path by being intentionally lonely with God and not running away. We can use our loneliness to fuel our beautiful relationship with Him until the day our loneliness ends, and we live with Him forever.
We tend to think loneliness is a bad thing. We protect ourselves from it. We isolate ourselves because of it. How many of our issues, when you boil it down, are due to our tendency to avoid these feelings? These pangs of loneliness, fear, pain, suffering, desperation, anxiety, worry, uncertainty? How many addictions, insecurities, broken relationships, financial problems, disorders, medications and failures are rooted in how we’ve chosen (consciously or subconsciously) to respond to our loneliness? How much of this is rooted in the fact that our world tells us loneliness is bad?
Mother Teresa gives us the chance to reconsider things…..
“Before crosses used to frighten me – I used to get goose bumps at the thought of suffering – but now I embrace suffering even before it actually comes, and like this Jesus and I live in love.”
Do we think of our loneliness and suffering as opportunities to love God more intimately? As places to depend on Him?
“I have more often as my companion “darkness.” And when the night becomes very thick – and it seems to me as if I will end up in hell – then I simply offer myself to Jesus. If He wants me to go there – I am ready – but only under the condition that it really makes Him happy."
Do we see our dark places as opportunities to hand everything over? To make ourselves empty on purpose? To experience this true freedom?
Mother Teresa chose her mission knowing it would be extremely difficult. She knew the only way she would be successful was depending on God and God alone.
“To leave that what I love and expose myself to new labours and sufferings which will be great, to be the laughing stock of so many – especially religious – to cling to and choose deliberately the hard things of an Indian life – to cling to and choose loneliness and ignominy – uncertainty – and all because Jesus wants it – to live His life – to do His work in India.”
She chose loneliness and suffering. And she knew that in doing so her mission would serve two purposes: #1) It would help others desperately in need #2) It would allow her to be radically dependent on God and love Him, and as such, He would be the ultimate source for doing #1. The two go together – serving others and dependence on God. And they to together for Mother Teresa and for us.
Loneliness can be beautiful when, like Mother Teresa, we choose it and accept it as a way to love God.
Loneliness is human. This loneliness is not necessarily very complicated. We yearn for God, and will continue to, as long as we are alive on earth. This yearning goes hand and hand with some loneliness.
Loneliness is a place we can hand our lives over and find freedom through dependence. Instead of assuming the problems in our lives are something to be fixed or something that makes us bad, we can change our path by being intentionally lonely with God and not running away. We can use our loneliness to fuel our beautiful relationship with Him until the day our loneliness ends, and we live with Him forever.