Commentary: Selfless service with a smile

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Gretchen Kurlander
  • 712th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  I am currently reading "Mother Teresa: The Private Writings of the 'Saint of Calcutta'" edited by Brian Kolodiejchuk. Mother Teresa exchanged letters with a handful of priests and friends throughout her life. These letters were collected and evaluated while appointing her a saint. 

The letters reveal she was one of the world's most influential leaders. I was surprised to learn that Mother Teresa, the founder of the Missionaries of Charity, spent most of her life with her soul in darkness, loneliness and pain because she could not feel God's love. 

When she felt her call to found the MC she knew she had to go out to the "slums," "into the holes of the poor." She also knew she would have little monetary support, no place to stay and no means to provide for herself and her fellow sisters, yet she went as she was called. She was not bold or flashy, but she was determined. She only wished to carry out God's will no matter the personal cost. She was, in a word, committed. 

We often ask ourselves if our struggle is worth it. To Mother Teresa, it didn't matter. She was committed to serve, and serve with joy. She made a conscious decision to serve humbly and joyfully every day as she rose above her inner darkness. 

Despite her inner turmoil, she exuded joy and happiness. Early in her life as a nun, she made a vow to be, "with the sisters--kind, very kind, but firm in obedience; with the poor--gentle and considerate; with the sick--extremely kind, and to smile." She did everything from that moment on with this vow in mind despite her deep and constant struggle to feel God's love. 

She was humble yet powerful, because as she said many times, "I am nothing; I am merely an instrument of God." She was only the vessel; he as the actor. She knew that the best leader had to be the most humble servant. She lived always to serve Him, to care for her poor and her sisters and brothers in the MC. She traveled the world speaking to powerful world leaders, because that is what God called her to do, never for personal gain. Her commitment to serve earned her the Noble Peace Prize; she accepted humbly. 

If only we could all live by these simple but powerful axioms. If we could live every day committed to our causes despite the personal cost and without regard to the personal gain; even when we feel internal despair, if we could serve joyfully; if we could all be very kind but firm, gentle and considerate, and smile what a wonderful place the world would be. I know I need to practice these axioms myself. Shall we try them together?