Convent stories: How to overcome sloth

There was a time in my life when I desponded a lot. It was so difficult for me to tolerate someone or something.

I used to go to a boarding home for children to assist and once I noticed their daily schedule on a bulletin board. It read: 7 a.m. - wake up, and so on. So we took the children to the church and on the way there I thought to myself - they wake up the children at 7 in the morning. The children have to get up at this time whether they like it or not. They do not choose the people to be with. They depend on others all the way. Most suffer from chronic pain. They do not choose what to eat. But if you ask them how they are, they always smile and say they are great.

So I asked myself, “What is it that I endure?” Thus God helped me understand that I have nothing to endure. It helped me overcome my sloth.

nun Mstislava (Gorodnichuk)