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15 July 2010

Clarity?

I heard a quote attributed to Mother Teresa today stating, "Clarity can become an idol."
 
As someone without a whole lot of clarity as to the immediate future, we don't even know what country we'll be living in after August..., my first thought was "ain't that the truth!"  But I also wondered if Mother Teresa REALLY said that, and what the context was. 
Google gave me a link that provided this story, and I believe that it sounds true to who Mother Teresa was.

“The Search for Clarity – Recently I read a profound interchange documented in a book by the renowned ethicist, John Kavanaugh. He tells of a time in his life when he went to Calcutta to work for three months at ‘the house of the dying’. This experience was part of his heartfelt search for direction about his future. The first morning there, he met Mother Teresa. She asked, ‘And what can I do for you?’ Kavanaugh asked her to pray for him. ‘What do you want me to pray for?’ she asked. He responded by explaining that he had come thousands of miles from the U.S. to find direction: ‘Pray that I have clarity.’ She said firmly, ‘No, I will not do that.’ When asked why, she said, ‘Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.’ Kavanaugh commented that she always seemed to have the clarity he longed for. She laughed and said, ‘I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.’

Trust. 
I'm praying to trust God, even more, too.

2 comments:

sperlonga said...

Praying for you too.

K said...

which is, simply, precious.
thanks, friend.