she was drawn to helping the poor people she saw all around her.
She had no master plan and no desire for fame. She merely began to
meet the need closest at hand, caring for one destitute or dying per-
son at a time, until within a matter of years, a great international
ministry had grown up around her.
When the Nobel Prize committee selected this petite nun to re-
ceive its coveted award, no one could have been more surprised than
the recipient herself. She had never sought nor anticipated the
worldwide acclaim that came to her.
In the article was a close-up photograph of Mother Teresa. Her
weathered old face was totally surrendered to the laughter of an un-
guarded moment. It was an expression of contagious joy.
Here were two stories about two famous people whose lives had
influenced the world: one who was committed to making a “big
splash” and the other who was content to send out small ripples of
love in an ocean of pain; one who was soaking up the rays of the
world’s spotlight and the other who was reflecting the light of Christ;
one who was intent on drawing attention to himself and the other
who had chosen to turn her attention to those in need of God’s
mercy. Which one was happier? Which one had made the world a
better place?
The teenage girls and I got into a wonderful discussion about how
each of us is given only one small life, and it’s up to us to choose how
we will use it. I remember at the end of the study a girl named Lori
prayed that God would use her life and help her find the kind of joy
and fulfillment that Mother Teresa had found.
I have often thought of that discussion and prayed what Lori
prayed—that God would deliver my one small life from the wide
road of the self-life and keep me on the narrow and joyful path of
living for him.
130 CLAIRECLONINGER