Parenting Advice from Mother Teresa

While reading quotes by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, I was surprised as to how many could pertain to parenthood.

[On how to approach parenthood:]
"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action. "
"Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."
"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. "
"In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love. "
"There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in - that we do it to God, to Christ, and that's why we try to do it as beautifully as possible."
"The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it."
"Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus."

[On the challenge of persevering as a Catholic parent]
"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. "
"I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness."

[And at the end of the day when everyone is sleeping we must connect with God….]
"We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls."

…ending with a prayer…
"Sweetest Lord, make me appreciative of the dignity of my high vocation, and its many responsibilities. Never permit me to disgrace it by giving way to coldness, unkindness, or impatience."

…and seeing the humor]
" I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much."