Wednesday, January 7, 2009

LET US BEGIN


YESTERDAY HAS GONE;
TOMORROW HAS NOT YET COME.
WE HAVE ONLY TODAY.

LET US BEGIN.


~Mother Teresa

Of Note: Oh my, Mother Teresa was quite a women. Some have called her a saint--many who were not even Catholics. In a recent book Mother Teresa's Secret Fire, Father Joseph Langford explained the event that changed his mentor's life at the age of forty. It occurred on a train from Calcutta to Darjeeling as Sister Teresa headed for a retreat between semesters while teaching school. Her life was comfortable although she sometimes ventured outside the school walls to walk among the poor--though she did not serve them. The September 10, 1947 train ride changed all that. Jesus spoke to her directly on that fateful day and asked that she work among the most needy in Calcutta as a conduit of His Love. Her immediate response was to deny that she was worthy--that she was indeed weak and didn't know if she could handle the deprivation the mission would entail. However, we know that Sister Teresa did accept the challenge and served fifty years as Jesus' emissary before passing in 1997. Even now we can hear her say quietly but forcefully: "Let us begin."

Today's Weather Report: The sun finally shines though it was playing hide-and-go-seek there for awhile with the roving clouds. Snow was falling when I awoke this morning. Drifty flakes with little force behind them. A "January Thaw" might be just around the corner. What's that, I hear you say? It's a short period when temps get above 32 degrees Fahrenheit and the snow melts, though not all the way, and sometimes the roads get really mushy. A strange sight in January for sure. This dirt road photo taken by Marie in Texas is a reminder of what lies underneath the compacted snow.

Watch For Change Snippet: January 1st marked the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution. TIME magazine opined: "With a new year and a new U.S. Administration, there's hope that Washington and Havana can wake up from their Cold War time warp and smell the cafe cubano." What came to mind was "What would Mother Teresa say?" Most likely she would suggest something in the most simple of terms. "Let us begin" might work.

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