Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) told of how she spent the last 10 years of her life in a spiritual desert. The years she is most remembered for, the ones that bestowed on her the official title of “Saint”, were spent without obvious feeling or experience of God. They were spent in struggle, without the “in love”, passionate intensity of the early days of her relationship with God.
Knowing this, I find her commitment and dedication to God, to her vocation, and to the poor she was called to love, even more amazing. Because the truth is, it’s easy to be faithful to God and His calling in the days when He feels near, answers prayer, and guides us clearly. As in the springtime seasons of marriage, where feelings flow easy and passion is strong, commitment and love are not difficult and take little effort.
No, it is in the desert that we discover the true depths of our dedication, love and faith. When we are bone-tired, anxious, depressed, sick, time-poor, passionless, grieving, angry, and feel that God is far away, or failing to guide us, that our faith and commitment truly reveals itself.
So what are we to do?
I like to take Saint Teresa as an example: we show up. Everyday. To prayer. To our vocation. To our poor. And we trust that this, too, shall pass. If not in this life, in the next, where our faithfulness is more than richly rewarded.
