It never ceases to amaze me how often I fall into the trap and end up grumbling about the greatest gifts in my life. A husband, children, a life that is full almost to bursting: these are things for which I once begged God. These are the jewels in the crown of my life.
 
Oh, but the children need care. Constant care. And a husband — a real flesh-and-blood creation of God, entrusted to me by God, to help me be holy and relying on me for holiness in turn — well, that relationship is a lot of work, isn’t it? And a “full life” — I laugh to think of it, and then I blush with shame, because I admit sometimes, I do yearn for a life that is a little less … full. A full life can leave you awfully tired at the end of the day.
 
I would imagine it’s the same for everyone, no matter your life circumstances or vocation. Your greatest blessings are also those things that require much of you, more than you imagined you would ever be asked to give. The biggest jewels make the crown heavy.
 
But if we had any of these gifts without the effort it takes to maintain them, would they be half as sweet?
 
In this same way, the work of the vineyard is opened to us through baptism; we are given the chance to produce fruit for the kingdom. It’s a chance we never dared to dream would be given to us.
 
It’s a gift. But just like with any gift worth having, it requires effort. Upkeep. Work.
 
It requires that we give in return. And it’s the giving that somehow, mystically, transforms us. It’s the giving that turns into the gift itself.
 
“...the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit." — Matthew 21:43