Give Me a Willing Heart, O God

Sometimes I wish I could tell everyone, "No matter what everyone says, just be quiet and do your own work."

No matter what, God is in control of everything. No matter how hard or how little we try, He is.

No matter what people say, only His say will matter in the end. It doesn't really matter what people say. It doesn't at all.

There are a lot of people in this world that other people deem as successful. But very few are worthy of respect. The ones I respect are those who just minded their own business, never spoke bad of anyone, and did their job to the best of their ability.

I wish I could tell people, if you took all the energy you are wasting on worrying what others think and convincing yourself that it was never you fault and blaming everyone but yourself, and used it to quietly and faithfully work, you would have finished building your ark.

Sometimes, it's best to just sit ourselves down and acknowledge that we are human. We are not incapable of making mistakes.

There is more benefit and virtue in saying, "Hey, I screwed-up. I'm sorry that I did. Can we move on?" than thinking of all the ways others are attacking you and feeling angry about it and sorry for yourself. There is no use in that. No use at all.

Let us always remember, nothing is ours to keep. Nothing on this earth is. If it was ours for a while, let us give thanks to God for blessing us in that way.

Let us also remember, if bad things happen, we should reflect on what has happened and why it has. Is there anything that I have done or not done that could have caused this? Have I ignored all the warning signs? Have I been deaf and lazy for so long that other people ran out of patience? We get only so many chances before people write us off. That's life. But wait. There isn't a single disaster that God cannot use for His glory and turn into something wonderful.

Let us look at what God has left us with and work with what we have. God loves us equally. We have everything that we need, it all depends on what we choose to do.

Let us plan. Let us follow-through. Let us work hard. Let's be patient. Let us be tough. Let us have a good attitude. Let us persevere. Dear God, help us.

No matter what other people say, just be quiet and do our own work.
-Mother Teresa