I’m to the part of The Story of a Soul where St. Thérèse describes a brutal flu epidemic that went through her community. It was so severe that people were dying. “Death was all around us,” St. Thérèse wrote. And “the worst sufferers were nursed by those who could hardly drag themselves about.”

It reminds me of something important for those of us who struggle with exhaustion to remember. There are times when, in spite of our own weariness, we have to go all in. It’s simply a part of the human condition that every one of us will find ourselves up close with someone who is in crisis. When that happens, you may be the only answer for that person.

Because we’re exhausted and depleted and weary, it’s likely our efforts will be less than what we’d like them to be. We may even come under criticism for not meeting expectations. It doesn’t matter. What matters is responding to the person in crisis if and when the Lord leads us to.

Just because I have only enough grace to help in a way that falls short of excellence, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t help at all. What matters is what the Holy Spirit is prompting you to do.

I take comfort in something St. Thérèse wrote about such situations:

“I must confess I am far from living up to my ideal, and yet the very desire to do so gives me a feeling of peace.”

Notes:

Thérèse of Lisieux, The Story of a Soul, narrated by Benjamin Crow, Audible, December 27, 2023