Life.
It’s about putting in the work.
Putting in the work so that things are done the right way, to achieve the outcomes we desire. Outcomes like running a marathon, or making the school baseball team. We earn that college degree, and we work through that apprenticeship. We obtain that promotion, or we strive to pay off a large debt.
As parents, we work. We we work to raise kids who grow into good people, people of faith. And we put the work into ourselves to become a man or woman of faith and character. These are just of few of the many things in life that require hard work, time and discipline. And it is especially true of our faith.
This has been a time of hard work and discipline. The last six months have presented challenge after challenge. It seems like something new every month, even multiple things per month. All of this has tested our strength, our character, and our resolve. And it has surely tested our faith. It has taken hard work and discipline to remain faithful throughout this time, and continue to do the right thing, to be kind, to bite our tongue, and do the things that need to be done for the good of the community, regardless of our opinion or what we think.
We’re putting in the time and effort for our families through remote learning. So many of us, including myself, have relied on remote work so we could continue to provide for our families, and be home with them at the same time. And up until recently, and perhaps this is still the case for many of us, we rely on remote Church, where we stream Mass live online to continue to experience God spiritually through community prayer – virtually.
All of this is different. No question about it. But we’re putting in the time, and the work, to ensure we still provide for our families, that our kids continue to learn, and that we still live in Communion with Christ.
Because by putting in the work now, by planting these seeds now in the midst of this stormy season, we will see the fruits of our labor at some point. We will see the fruits of out handiwork.
For so many of us right now, this is hard to see. So many of us have been affected significantly during this time. Perhaps we’ve gotten sick and haven’t fared as well as others. Perhaps we’ve lost a job and income. Perhaps we’ve lost property and our very livelihood. Perhaps we know someone close to us who has lost their life. We all know someone who has lost something – something major.
But life is work. Life has always been work. Life has always been struggle. A good faith has always been struggle.
I read something the other day, though, which stated that “there have always been times like these…”
And so, it is our responsibility as Christians to be the model to others – to be the model of how to live through times like these, and not get daunted, not get worn down, but to continue to put in the work that needs to be done. Mentally. Physically. And spiritually.
All of us need to be that model for others to follow, so that we can show them how to put in the work to persevere through times like these and remain true to yourself, true to those around you, and true to God.
Yes, life is work, but through good work, through good character, through good faith in our Lord, good fruits will result. Times like these strengthen us. They mold us. They sharpen us.
Putting in the work through times like these, helping people and being the model through times like these, paves the way to a time like no other. A destination beyond time in general. A destination in eternity – Heaven. A destination, most certainly beyond times like these, but that which is only possible through times like these.
