Small things with great love

Tonight, while we are snuggled up in our comfortable beds in our comfortable homes in some of the wealthiest nations on earth, an estimated 100 million homeless will be curling up in boxes, in doorways and under bridges. Tomorrow when they awaken, they’ll begin another day of survival of the fittest.

We have been travelling India for a month now, and we have witnessed a variety of ways in which tourist and locals deal with poverty.  The most common response when faced with the beggars is ignoring their existence, focusing eyes elsewhere.

The beggars here in Calcutta are very persistent. The children will follow you for blocks. If you ignore them, they take your hand. If you put your arms around them, they will reach for your purse. It’s difficult to tell who is a professional beggar, and who really is in need. You may at times help those, who lacks nothing and refuse those who lacks everything. The faces and voices of those you send away will hunt you for days and leave you with a feeling of guilt and helplessness. It's easier to make these people annoyances rather than human beings. It's easier to see them as the poor, as unfortunate. It’s easier to ignore them and make them invisible or a faceless statistic, but it does solve anything. All you can do is pray. I pray because I don’t know what else do. I pray because He hears me, and He sees them. He knows their needs and only He can direct me.

There are many reasons why giving money is not the best response to an outstretched hand. During the last weeks I have discovered that the greatest gift you can give is your time. Everyone needs recognition. Everyone needs to feel appreciated and loved – and everyone is worthy. Here in Calcutta I continue to receive from the poorest of the poor, and today I was given a beautiful chance to give back. Together with ten other volunteers I went to Nabo Jibon, a home run by Missionaries of Charity Brothers, to bathe and feed the street children of Calcutta. Children, who yearn for love and who are oh-so-ready to respond to your affection and caring. The children today have touched me deeply, and I pray that they have someone in their lives, who celebrates the fact that they exist and that they grow. To see the smile on their faces, as they were all covered in soap from top to toe, reminds me to be more thankful. To hear their laughter as they got tossed into the air by the male volunteers, reminds me to laugh more. To see them close their eyes when being hugged creates in me a desire to give more. Last Monday I was sent to the hospital and this week has been tough. Apparently I don’t have super hero power.

To look a beggar in the eyes and smile and acknowledging their existence is a small thing.  Putting your hand into an outstretched hand and holding it tight for a moment is a small thing. Bathing someone is also a small thing. Serving someone food is a small thing too – but Mother Teresa said that “if you cannot do great things, you can do small things with great love”.

I urge you all to not only pray with your hearts, but to pray with action—to volunteer, work, serve, and build in accordance with God’s Kingdom. God should be glorified through our work for a better world. Pray for the health and safety of all homeless people. Ask God to lead them to people, who will care for them. Pray also for the caregivers, organizations etc., who offer assistance and work for a change. I urge to all to do small things with great love.

Love, Mette