The Train to Darjeeling

On September 10, 1946, a thirty-six-year-old Albanian nun boarded a train in Calcutta bound for Darjeeling. Sister Teresa had taught at St. Mary's High School in the Entally district for fifteen years. She was comfortable, respected, settled. But somewhere along those rattling tracks through the Bengali countryside, she heard what she later described as "a call within a call" — a divine summons to leave her convent and serve the poorest of the poor.

What followed was not a dramatic leap but a patient obedience. Church authorities required months of petitions before granting her permission to leave the Sisters of Loreto. In August 1948, she finally stepped out of the convent wearing a simple white sari with blue borders, carrying almost nothing. On October 7, 1950, with just thirteen members — twelve of them her former students — she formally established the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta.

Paul writes that love "is patient... is not self-seeking... always perseveres" (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Mother Teresa's calling embodied every clause. She did not rush ahead of God's timing. She did not cling to the security she had built over fifteen years. She persevered through institutional delays and the overwhelming need of Calcutta's slums.

When the Almighty places a calling on your heart, love's patience is not passive resignation — it is active trust. The same love that waits is the love that perseveres. Your calling may require a long train ride before the destination becomes clear.