For Scripture has it: Anyone who perseveres to the end will be saved, [Matthew 10:22]and again, Be brave of heart and rely on the Lord. [Psalm 27:14]. (Rule of St. Benedict 7.36-37)
Discipline for a goal always was, and still is worth it.
People with ordinary faces get up every day and keep going: for the sake of their children; for the sake of what is right and true and good; for love.
Any goal worth reaching will point you uphill. Hell is the other way. There’s a broad, paved road with a gentle slope downhill, and all the cool people are on it, crowds of them. If you were drifting with them but decide to turn around, you’ll have to fight your way through them, and they shove hard. You will impede their fun.
The question that pulses and pants and gets a headache is: what am I doing this for?
Heaven beckons like a five-star vacation. The Church promises that it’s already booked and paid for.
But you’ve got to do the walking. It’s a long hike through tough terrain. Hardship doesn’t mean you’re guilty. Hardship means you’re human, and still trying.
God is always at work everywhere for good: within you too. He will sustain you. Bet your life on it.
Sure, take a break and see if you can prove something. But the choice always comes down to going on or giving up. Therefore, people who are sweating uphill are probably honest when they offer help. Try being grateful, and accept it. Hoist yourself to your feet. It’s called perseverance. In other words, it means sending weight to bear on your forward foot when your toes pinch and your heel blisters.
There’s a clear enough path when you start out. But then it wears thin and blends into the rock you’re balancing on. Next thing you know, you’re craning your neck up a cliff face. Walking was the easy part. You tell yourself it’s time to turn around and find that highway you were too good for.
Others have been this way before: learn from them. For instance, wear the harness. Use the ropes. You will surely slip and fall, but humility will save your life every time. Free solo climbers will not pray or obey.
Muscles clench that you didn’t know were in you. The hissing sound is your own breath. Fingertips are all the grip you’ve got.
Someone slips and showers you with dirt and fragments. The echo of that scream does not fade away.
Or was that a jumper? Jumpers are never alone. They always drag a few others who were strapped to them.
Certainly there are prayers that God seems in no hurry to answer. But when you pray for strength to do the right thing, he comes through, especially when there’s someone else roped to you and your fingers have gone numb.
Sometimes he answers so fast that by the end of the day you’re kicking back on a plateau, enjoying the view. When everyone you care about is getting along and helping each other, you might as well be in heaven. You’ve already got what it’s all about.
Pace yourself. The tough parts push you beyond your limits. That’s what getting stronger feels like.
For a long time it’s awful, but the day comes when you flex your fingertips and don’t cramp. You’re hanging off the next cliff, but it’s your cliff. You own it.