I am thankful for the life of Mother Teresa. I recently finished reading her authorized autobiography by Kathryn Spink, and although I cannot fathom living the life that she did, I was able to extract some wisdom from this beautiful life of hers.
4 Lessons Learned from the Life of Mother Teresa:
- Love begins at home. We need to work on loving each other within our marriages, our families, our neighborhoods before thinking about crossing seas to love people in different lands. Do you know who your neighbors are?
- Do small things with great love. It’s of her most well-known quotes and her life was the epitome of just that. When I think of how much she did in her lifetime, there is nothing small about it, but I am forgetting all the small sacrifices she made every single day. It certainly wasn’t a glamorous life.. The day to day usually never is.. “Mother Teresa was like a quiet storm that will shake you. She says little things – but from them come oak trees.” She believed in something as small as a smile making all the difference. “We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do. Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”
- Everyone has a role and a different purpose. Although she welcomed whoever wanted to serve the poorest of the poor, she didn’t expect people to be like her and live her life. She once told a cricket player that he couldn’t do what she did, and she couldn’t do what he did. We must each strive to be the best at what we are gifted at, and that is making something beautiful for God.
- The greatest poverty is being unloved, which means both the materially rich and poor know and experience it. She believed that everyone deserved to be loved. “Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.” I don’t often think that the people with money need my help or need my love.
“I never forget an opportunity I had in visiting a home. And I went there, and I saw in that home they had everything, beautiful things, but everybody was looking towards the door. And I did not see a single one with their smile on their face. And I turned to the Sister and I asked: How is that? How is it that the people they have everything here, why are they all looking towards the door, why are they not smiling? I am so used to see the smile on our people, even the dying one smile, and she said: This is nearly every day, they are expecting, they are hoping that a son or daughter will come to visit them. They are hurt because they are forgotten, and see – this is where love comes. That poverty comes right there in our own home, even neglect to love. Maybe in our own family we have somebody who is feeling lonely, who is feeling sick, who is feeling worried, and these are difficult days for everybody.” So this goes back to number 1.
Reading about her life inspired me and illustrated for me what it meant to do small things with great love. I know when it comes to my capacity to love others, I really do have to start small. I’m thankful for people like Mother Teresa, and I’m thankful that there are many like her whose stories haven’t been told yet. They give me hope. Even though we can’t do everything, we can do something.
I highly recommend you give it a read. Really so inspiring.
This is week 16 of practicing gratitude on my blog. I’m actually taking a break from writing in my daily gratitude journal.. and turns out I’m actually grateful for the break! How about that. You can see all my other gratitude posts by clicking on the banner:
Ashley Brooke Nicholas
17 Jul 2014She was such an amazing woman! We can all learn from her life of service!
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014I agree! :) Hoping we all aspire to be more like her.
Ashley
17 Jul 2014Love this! I kept trying to pick one that felt more powerful to me, but they all did! :)
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Thank you! I felt like almost everything she had to say in the book was really powerful.
Sarah
16 Jul 2014What a lovely post no.4 is so true
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Thank you Sarah! It’s so easy to overlook certain people.. but everyone could use more love in their lives.
Lisa Marie Heath
16 Jul 2014Wonderful post! Mother Teresa is an inspiration!
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Thank you!! She’s my hero. :)
Christen
16 Jul 2014Mother Teresa is one of the people I admire most. She was awesome on so many levels.
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Agreed! Hoping that we all become more like her everyday. :)
Jessica Angeles
16 Jul 2014I love this! Great reminder to keep my cool and just LOVE!
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014:) I think you do a pretty excellent job with keeping your cool with the kids you work with.
Sierra
16 Jul 2014Mother Teresa is my hero!
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014She’s definitely mine too!
Betsy Gettis
16 Jul 2014“do small things with great love” is a quote to live by! so true…i work for a large church (about 5,000 attendees) and we often say “do for a few what you wish you could do for all”….just because you can’t solve everyone’s problems doesn’t mean you can’t solve someone’s!
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014exactly!! I always try to remind myself.. if you can’t feed 100, then feed one.. i’m pretty sure that’s another MT quote :D
Katreena Short
16 Jul 2014Great lessons. Number four is my favorite!
Katreena
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Thank you Katreena!
Kristine Foley
16 Jul 2014She is an inspiration. Thanks for the post!
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Thanks for reading Kristine! I wish I could have met her.
Brooke @ You're In Brookelynn
16 Jul 2014Absolutely love this post, so inspiring! I especially love numbers 3 & 4 :)
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Thank you Brooke!
Rebekah
16 Jul 2014Nothing wrong with taking a break :) Mother Theresa was such an amazing person, will definitely have to read her autobiography.
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014You should read it! Tell me what you think. Some people thought it was discouraging bc she’s so different from most of us.. but I found it inspirational. I liked how she’s all about doing the small things with great love.. it all adds up.
twolittlepigsdownunder
16 Jul 2014Love love love this post! What a fantastic idea. Great job :)
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Thank you!! :)
Jessica Doll at Hej Doll
16 Jul 2014I love all of your takeaways. She was a brilliant woman.
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014She really was! I hope one day I could be even a tenth of the woman she was :)
Chelsea
16 Jul 2014Do small things with great love is one of my favorite quotes!
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Same here! :)
Carly Anderson
15 Jul 2014Mother Theresa was such a beautiful person. She had such wise words!
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014She really was amazing! I am always so inspired when reading about her life.
Stefani
15 Jul 2014You know, I don’t think I know much about my neighbors, except for what the look like! It’s really something that we miss out on now-a-days. Being neighborly isn’t as valued. I definitely want to try harder to change that. Because it’s so true – how can you go out and love others if you aren’t loving those right next door? :-)
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Yeah we tried to meet our neighbors back when we lived in a home and weren’t moving around so much.. but it’s def not the norm anymore. people may have been weirded out. i wish that there was more of a community feel in neighborhoods.
Amby Felix
15 Jul 2014LOVE IT!!!! Such amazing quotes and I wish there were more people in the world like Mother Theresa!
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Thank you Amby! Me too! And I def wish I could be more like her as well.
Jenn
15 Jul 2014Loved this. So inspirational!
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Thanks Jenn! I was so inspired by reading her book!
Caroline Ciener
15 Jul 2014These are beautiful! Such a great idea for a post!
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Thank you Caroline!
songbirdsandbuttons
15 Jul 2014I love the “life is a dream, realize it” part of that quote – it’s just so true!
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014I love this quote of hers. If only I could live it out better :)
Lauren
15 Jul 2014When my husband was sick in the hospital, I was so thankful that one of our friends worked there. He was able to go where I couldn’t and be with Ernie. He said the same thing, that’s why we all have different jobs, so we can help each other when needed. <3
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014:) Whenever I wish I could be someone else, I try to remind myself that everyone has their own role to play. Is he completely better now?
Lauren
27 Jul 2014Yes! It’s incredible how fast he recovered, he’s like a super hero :)
Neely
15 Jul 2014Beautiful post, loved everything about this!
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Thank you Neely!
Anosa
15 Jul 2014love mother teresa, beautiful post x
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Thank you Mia! She was a wonderful woman. I wish I could have met her.
Jordan
15 Jul 2014This made me smile, What an inspiration! Number 2, of course, is my favorite!
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Number 2 is one that I have to repeat to myself so often! I always want to think big, but ultimately it shouldn’t be about that. :)
Lissa Cole
15 Jul 2014What a neat blog project. Mother Teresa was an amazing woman that more should aspire to be like.
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Thank you! :) I wish I could be more like her.. but those little sacrifices she makes everyday. I know it’s difficult. Her character definitely didn’t happen overnight.
Renee Soriano
15 Jul 2014I absolutely love reading Mother Theresa’s quotes…they inspire me to be better than I am.
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014She’s such an inspiration. She has so much wisdom.
Ashley
15 Jul 2014This was a great post. I love numbers 1 and also 4. Remembering to be loving in general is extremely important. I think a lot of times that is the lasting impression you leave on people.
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014I agree. It’s sometimes the hardest thing to do.. but I think it’s the most meaningful thing you can do in life. :)
Leah from www.thatmamajama.com
15 Jul 2014Beautiful. I definitely agree. <3
Esther of Local Adventurer
25 Jul 2014Thanks so much Leah :)
toni d.
1 Jan 2014What a beautiful post. I’m at a loss for words, as I’m still trying to soak everything in. Thank you for sharing. Glad to see you’re back safe from your trip. Oh, happy new year!
esther julee
2 Jan 2014Thanks Toni! There was so much wisdom packed into her life and that book. The book was hard to digest, so I know what you mean. Happy new year!
Erika
1 Jan 2014Esther — thank you so much for sharing this amazing wisdom that I would not have otherwise encountered. These lessons are powerful and I’m saving this post for future reference and inspiration. Wow. Man. I think the one that hit me the most was about the deepest poverty. How fundamentally true!
esther julee
2 Jan 2014You’re welcome and thanks for reading! It’s definitely changed my perspective on how to see the people around me. :)
AsianCajuns
1 Jan 2014I love this! I really don’t know much about mother Teresa, but since one of my new years resolutions is to make more time for reading, I’m adding this book to my list. I love the idea that everyone has a different role in life. It ties in with Joseph Campbell’s idea of following your bliss. If you put your energy into something you’re passionate about, something beautiful is created.
Happy new year!
– Catj
esther julee
2 Jan 2014Let me know what you think abut the book! :) Yeah, I feel like a lot of times we are just trying to be like someone else we admire, but we all have to find our own way.