You Were Not Made For Comfort
By Briana Edwards
I have a deep desire to feel protected, safe, loved, and cherished. I love to rest while gazing at the beautiful, and I yearn for peace and harmony like it's my job. While all of these are good things, I think a lot of times I have misguided desires which thrusts comfort at the center of what I am craving. Comfort seems to be the safest thing to yearn for because, in some skewed sense, I feel like I can achieve it by myself. I can pursue my career, pay my bills, relax, make good food, work out, read, write, and pray on my own. It seems like, with very little effort (or a lot of effort, depending on the day), I can be quite content when I follow my schedule.
But is this the path that I am called to walk towards heaven?
Ease? Comfort? Schedules? Is sanctity reliant on safety? Were the saints merely content? While it seems like peace is something that can only be obtained when everything is functioning like clockwork, I hardly think that I am living like a saint when everything is just dandy. Where is my desire to serve? Why do I cower and try to distract myself instead of joyfully embracing my cross?
In order to do great things and live authentically, we will not have an easy life. Comfort is not the path to sanctity. May we grow in docility and trust while continuing to offer our little lives to our Creator each and every day. We are not meant to peacefully exist on our own and only love others when we have the energy to do so. And while we cannot live authentic human lives on our own, we were never created for this self sufficiency. Autonomy will not fulfill us. We are called to unite ourselves to Christ Himself, rely on His grace, and go forth to spread the love which He has first shown us.
“Christ did not promise an easy life. Those who desire comforts have dialed the wrong number. Rather, he shows us the way to great things, the good, towards an authentic human life.”
In light of this, may we pursue our vocations with the assurance that God will sanctify us in our daily struggles, may we be brave in our pursuit of virtue and greatness, and may our desires always direct us toward the love of Christ and His Church.
The saints weren't warm and cozy, they were on fire with Love.