Nothing

“When you have nothing left but God, you have more than enough to start over.” (Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta).

Blessed Engelmar Unzeitig

The COVID-19 pandemic caused all sorts of problems for all sorts of people across the entire world. Many people died of COVID-19, or neglect, or poverty, or other diseases that could not be tested or treated while hospitals were overwhelmed with the influx of patients presenting with problems. Others experienced extreme poverty as their livelihoods were stripped away. And still others were separated form their families and friends in a way that was unprecedented in their lifetime.

For us, there were no terribly dramatic implications of the pandemic. Apart from some homeschooling and restrictions in relation to leaving our home, we were relatively blessed in that the pandemic did not result in a loss of life or extreme poverty.

However, the ramifications of the pandemic have resulted in some changes in my life. And one of those changes is that my business, which had been viable and flourishing for many many years, was made unviable as a result of that COVID-19 pandemic.

And I have been thinking about that, because it has meant that I have had to start all over again.

For anyone who has started a business before, they will understand that it is no easy thing to start a business from scratch and begin again. And while it is not the end of the world, or even a very difficult cross to carry in relative terms, it is certainly a hurdle that I was not expecting to have to face at this stage of my life…

And I have been reflecting on that today, because Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “When you have nothing left but God, you have more than enough to start over.”

And that is true…

Blessed Engelmar Unzeitig lived from 1911 until his death of typhoid in a Nazi concentration Camp in 1945. He was ordained a priest in 1939 and then arrested a couple of years later and sent to a concentration camp without a trial. While there he served the prisoners as their pastor and wrote to his sister, “God's almighty grace helps us overcome obstacles ...love doubles our strength, makes us inventive, makes us feel content and inwardly free. If people would only realise what God has in store for those who love Him!”

When he died, Blessed Englemar was called the Angel of Dachau by the prisoners of the camp.

He had nothing. And he knew that was more than enough because he had God.

And so today, as I work on the next stage of my life, a stage that I never thought I would need to encounter, it occurs to me that though I am starting again at the very beginning, though I am starting with nothing. I am really richer than words could ever say. You see, I have God with me, and that means that I have more than enough to start over…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.