This is the fourth blog about Mother Teresa’s beliefs and deeds. Today is my 69th birthday, and it is as beautiful as the day I was born at 7:00 A.M. on a Sunday morning. I’d like to think that God has been pleased with my successes and only a little disappointed in my failures. I’d also like to think that Mother Teresa has influenced how I have lived my life. I hope to continue to be “Christ with flesh on” in all my endeavors of the future.
Joy is a combination of prayer, strength, and love that spreads throughout the world. It is a sign of a generous personality and a character that climbs the highest mountains for the benefit of many. Joy shines in your eyes, in your conversations, and on your face. Joy cannot be hidden; it must flow out to others.
Spending silent times in our prayers with God each day can be the most precious part of the day. We need to willingly accept suffering in our lives with a smile because God gives us courage to accept what He gives, what He allows, and what He takes. In walking with God, we become witnesses to His love in our lives, we learn to respond to His calling through the Holy Spirit, we complete our dedication, we develop generosity and cheerfulness in our service to Him, and we grow in our abilities to love one another. Before we speak, we need to listen carefully because God speaks in the silence of our hearts. The silence allows us to fully hear God in everything we do.
God’s light cannot exist without a loving pathway, and we are His preferred pathway. God uses us and passes through us to produce His light in the world. We can refuse to be used by God, but that refusal allows the darkness to spread throughout everything. Christ asks us to let our light shine into the world, but to keep our lamps burning, we need to keep filling them up with love. Words that do not give off the light of Christ provide a pathway for the darkness to kill the souls of the world. We need to pray for the ability to know the will of God, for the love to accept the will of God, and for the courage to do His will.
Yesterday is gone; tomorrow has not come. Today, we can begin with an open heart to love and forgive each other. Until we have forgiven each other, there can be no peace. Forgiveness means that we belong to each other, and we cannot love God until we accept that we must lose ourselves to others. When we serve others, we are showing our faith in action. Faith and prayer connect us to God, and through that connection, we become His servants, shining His light through our words, actions, and deeds.
I pray that God will use me as an instrument of His peace throughout my 69th year and on into the future. I hope that He will continue to help me use the beautiful gifts He has given me to spread His light throughout the world. In the silence of my prayers, I will hear Him speak to my heart. Somewhere in the twinkling of my later years, I pray that I will see the beautiful home He is preparing for me.
Anna Hartt
