Recently I began reading 'Mother Teresa - An Authorized Biography' by Kathryn Spink, and one amazing thing about Mother Teresa that I noticed is how ordinary she was. Neither was she highly educated, nor with supreme managerial or people skills. Instead she listened to God, and God provided her with everything she wanted to get the job done. Here are a few instances from Mother's life where God directly got involved: There was the time in Calcutta when Mother ran out of food and next food supply was two days away. She had about seven thousand people expecting to get fed those two days. For some unanticipated reason the government closed down schools for two days, and all the bread that would have been provided for the schoolchildren was sent to Missionaries of Charity. She received just enough bread to serve everybody for two days. On another occasion a sister telephoned from Agra to say that a children's home was desperately needed there. It would have taken about 50,000 rupees to do so and Mother was compelled to tell her that it was impossible at that time due to lack of funds. The phone rang again as soon as she hung up the sister, however, to inform her that she had been awarded the Magsaysay Award from Philippines. The award money amounted to some 50,000 rupees. In 1971, Mother Teresa found a house in Southall, England to start a novitiate, but the owner wanted 9,000 Pounds for it. She placed a small miraculous medal in the garden of the property and prayed, then offered 6,000 Pounds for it. Though the offer was significantly lower than the market value, the owner of the property immediately accepted the offer. Problem arose when she tried to bring money from India to buy the house as banking regulations prevented such a transfer. She set off on a tour of England and spoke at different places, briefly mentioning about her intention to open a novitiate in Southall. She made no appeal for money, however, people still gave her small donations as she travelled. At the end of the tour, the total donations received was counted and it totaled to 5,995 Pounds!
Could it be possible that God hasn't change any at all? The same God who created Eden before creating Adam, the same God who poured Manna from the skies to feed His chosen people, the same God who arranged ravens to bring bread and meat for prophet Elijah, could it be the same God that provided Mother Teresa with what she needed to perform His work on earth? I am beginning to think that, perhaps, it is us who have changed, not God. In a less cynical world, we might identify a lot more things as miracles rather than coincidences, and we might appreciate many more things as amazing rather than ordinary.
We often forget that God has created us to glorify Him; we are the apple of His eyes. When we realize this and make an effort to live according to God's will, then He will provide us with whatever we need to live accordingly. The problem is that we often fail to recognize what God's intentions are for us, and ask and hope for the wrong things: "You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions" (James 4:3).
I also want to emphasize that Divine Providence doesn't mean we sit home idle and God provide us with three meals a day and a roof over our head. That is sloth - a cardinal sin. Instead, the key for a successful life is to live in agreement with God's will. And to find what is God's will for each one of us, we need to establish a personal relationship with God the Father through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. The Bible talks about Moses as an "intimate friend" of God. Even then, Moses prayed: "If I have found favor with you, please let me know your ways so that, in knowing you, I may continue to find favor with you" (Exodus 33:13). God wanted Mother Teresa to see Jesus in the poorest of the poor in this world. In return for her obedience, God provided her with everything she ever needed.
"Now if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD, your God, carefully observing all his commandments which I give you today, the LORD, your God, will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overwhelm you when you obey the voice of the LORD, your God:
May you be blessed in the city,
and blessed in the country!
Blessed be the fruit of your womb,
the produce of your soil and the offspring of your livestock,
the issue of your herds and the young of your flocks!
Blessed be your grain basket and your kneading bowl!
May you be blessed in your coming in,
and blessed in your going out!" (Deuteronomy 28:1-6)
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