Making Life an Uphill Battle

As I get closer to my fifth decade of life (yikes!), I recognize the value of observing the impact of behaviors and choices people make over decades rather than just years. Spiritually well-formed youth who had no benefit of years of personal boo-boos or extended time watching others step on it catch my attention with their poise, prudence, and self-restraint. Also notable is a worldlier young adult who may seem to have it together. With the great looks, job, money and a significant other, it’s hard to see how their weak spiritual life damages them.

Father Ben Green’s sermon on the feast of the Holy Family nails it: when you raise your children without a strong faith, you are sentencing them to a life that will be an uphill battle. When God’s not the center, even with a dreamy exterior, the life and the relationships in it are built on sand. They are conditioned on performance, appearance, and optimal circumstances. Even if everything on the outside glitters, the God-hole grows.

The spiritual void gives illusion of a smooth-sailing secular life. But inside, the lack of meaning makes it an uphill battle.

The Catholic Women’s Guide to Healthy Relationships: Equip your kids with all the spiritual tools they will need so when they are on their own, life will not be an uphill battle.