"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired."
For those of you that know me well, you know some of the struggles I faced when I spent a summer in India working in the Mother Teresa home for the dying. At the time, it was easy to see what it meant to love. It meant holding a complete strangers hand as they passed away. It meant cleaning their wounds,feeding and bathing them, and making sure they were not alone as they died. For that summer, I didn't worry about my credit card bill, or the smog check on my car. I didn't spend time thinking about where I was going to eat that night, the laundry that needed to be done, or who was getting kicked off the bachelor that week. For that summer, I learned what it meant to love. The love Mother Teresa spent her whole life showing the world; a genuine love that doesn't have to be extraordinary.
I had a rough day at work yesterday, or at least I thought I had a rough day. There are a few players that I kind of see as "mine." Guys that come to me every day to get treated; guys who I have invested all my time and energy in rehabbing. One of my players is getting close to recovery from thumb surgery. Two days ago was the first day this infielder got to play catch, and I got to go outside with him and throw the ball. It was thrilling for me to see him back doing what he was made to do. So yesterday he was supposed to throw even further, and I brought my glove with the excitement that I would get to throw with him again. However, another PT took him outside and threw with him. I know it sounds pretty silly, but I was pretty upset.
As a therapist, you want to see the fruit of your labor, and after all the time and energy I put into this player, someone else is going to see it through. It wasn't a good start to my day. As the day went on, other PTs starting treating my other patients too and Satan took over and began telling me its because I'm not good enough, that they don't trust me with the players, that they are better than me, and that I'm just a wee little girl in a man's world.
Then I came home and got a lesson in humility from the God I love. He reminded me of that summer in India, the orphans and dying that I held in my arms, and the words of Mother Teresa rang through my mind. I have a genuine care and love for the people that God puts in my path to treat, including this player. And that love doesn't have to be anything but genuine. A friend reminded me that we do what we can for God; that my genuine love for people does not go unnoticed. That maybe the glory of his recovery will not go to me, but it was not my glory in the first place. I am simply a vessel that God can use to effect the lives around me. When we humbly walk in love, peoples lives can be changed. Our finger prints won't fade from the lives we change.
My lesson from my "rough day" was that I am out here doing what I can. And what I can do is display a genuine love. When Mother Teresa says it doesn't have to be extraordinary, but instead be a love that does not tire us, I understand what she means. For me, it can be exhausting sometimes; caring so much. I take things home with me, and spend sleepless nights thinking about what else I can do. She says we need to just simply love without growing weary. Whether I am in the slums of India, or working with professional athletes that drive my moms dream Jaguar, I have the opportunity to display a genuine love and touch lives. All Glory to God.
Katy
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