by Nadia Ramoutar    MMM Communications Coordinator       Ireland       16.11.2022

There are times in life when we look at how much there is to do in the world and wonder where to begin.  If we focus too much on the bad news, our efforts can seem minor in comparison.  When I read into the details of war, famine, drought, injustice, violence and climate decline, I grow weary.  We do what we can in our work to counteract these thing but is it ever enough?  As the Communications Coordinator for the Medical Missionaries of Mary, I have a wonderful job.  I love the MMM Sisters and staff who I work with and I am uplifted and inspired by work that we do in the world.

What does challenge me sometimes is what story to tell or how hard to drive home a point about the struggles and strife our MMM Sisters face in the world.  We have a lot to do and limited resources at times to do it.  So how do we stay motivated?

It can be tiring to look at the way the world is operating and the choices that some people make at the expense of other people – especially children. The actions of people globally can be distressing and disappointing.  We need to keep up with the news and know what is going on in the world, yet, we can also be deflated by how negative things can get.  There is a lot of drought, famine and injustice going on and it always seems that the most vulnerable are the ones who are hardest hit.  We do our best to make life better for as many people as possible but resources don’t always allow for all we can do or want to do.

The key to this seems to be in making sure we don’t get carer’s fatigue.  In trying to do good work in the world we can exhaust ourselves. I  am often reminded by my colleague Sr Sheila that in “loving our neighbour as our ourselves”, we have to love ourselves first.  It is an on-going effort and hard to do when we are depleted.  So, part of our work in saving the world has to involve efforts to save ourselves too.  We have to be brave but we also have to keep ourselves renewed in our faith and in our efforts of self-care.

I am also reminded of Galatians 6:9, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”  This is a very powerful reminder that as we do good, we must pace ourselves not to grow too tired.  Weary is a loaded word, reflecting the draining way we can become if we lose sight of the big picture.  It is important that we find harmony in what we do.  I don’t know that balance is possible as it seems a bit mythical in expectation.  Things do not always go our way and people can be challenging.  How we carry ourselves forward requires some self-renewal each day.

We can only give what we have.  Many of us have heard that you can’t pour from an empty cup.  So, I hope you will join me in finding ways to fill your cup this week.  Lean on the ways that uplift and replenish you.  Listen to your body and take care of it as the constant companion it is.  More than anything, do not lose heart.  We are all in this together.