It Takes Work
My Dear People,
"In the beginning, there is struggle and a lot of work for those who come near to God. But after that there is indescribable joy. It is just like building a fire: at first it is smoky and your eyes water, but later you get the desired result. Thus we ought to light the divine fire in ourselves with tears and effort."
- Amma Syncletica, Desert Mother, North Africa
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Not yet five years old, my son Nelson already understands that the important things take work, a lot of work. (E.g., whistling; catching a baseball. "Important" is relative, of course.) Without a doubt, all of us likewise learned this same essential life lesson by age five: the important things take work. It does seem, however, that the most significant lessons must be learned over and over and over; as we learn them more deeply and more deeply and still more deeply. (If a lesson is worth learning once, why not learn it again!)
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Syncletica was, it is said, from a wealthy Alexandrian family. She lived in the 4th century. To be from a wealthy Alexandrian family in the 4th century was to be in the top fraction of 1% of the world's population in terms of comfort, convenience, culture, or any such measure. (Sound familiar?) For what it's worth, she is also said to have been beautiful. With that combination, presumably prospects for her life in Alexandria looked pretty darn good.
But she walked away from all that.
Walked away. And out into the north African desert.
She became one of what, eventually, would be called the "desert mothers," along with their male counterparts, the "desert fathers," who left the city and went out into the desert to devote themselves to God. In time, other women joined Syncletica and her sister, devoting themselves to prayer and to a holy life of service.
Syncletica would, in time, be called "Amma," meaning "mother" or "mama," honoring her role as spiritual mother to many.
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Few of us will take monastic vows; however, we don't have to "go monastic" in order to hear the truth Amma Syncletica speaks; to hear and to know what we already know, and what we must be reminded of, again and again and again: that the journey into relationship with God takes work. Sustained work. Just as any relationship of any depth does.
And, Amma Syncletica is telling us: it's worth it.
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It's more than worth it.
Your brother in Christ,
Wallace+
