Why are the Best Things So Hard?

By Meg Ambuul

Editor’s Note: Below is a speech delivered by Our Lady of Walsingham Academy senior Meg Ambuul at the school’s annual gala on Nov. 11 at Creekside Event Center. Ambuul is a senior.

I can say with some authority that attending Our Lady of Walsingham Academy is a lot of work. A few years ago, that would have been a complaint. But now, as I pursue the studies of my senior year, I’m actually grateful. 

So often, the things you obtain through struggle end up being of greatest value. Anything we regard as “good” — academic achievement, career success, strong families, physical fitness, artistic expression, lasting friendships — requires a conscious act of will to counter our lazy nature.

This is not a new idea.  The first Noble Truth of the Buddha is “Life is hard,”  sometimes translated “Life is pain.”  

Then, in Genesis, we read: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden to work it.” Even in paradise, Adam is not scrolling on his phone or napping on the beach.  He has work to do.    

And in the Gospel of Mark, we see the apostles, James and John, ask our Lord to “grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” Jesus asks them: “Can you drink the cup that I drink?”  That is, are you willing to work for it?

I think asking the question “Why are the best things so hard,” is just another way of asking, “Why does a good God allow suffering?  Why is there evil in the world?  Why did Christ have to die on the cross?”

Not that I am comparing my time at Our Lady of Walsingham to the Passion.  (Though sometimes my calculus class comes pretty close.) But really, these are all matters of degree along the same continuum — the mystery of free will itself.  

What worth are victories without the risk of failure? How could perseverance be an asset if it were not necessary for recovery?  What is noble in sacrifice if we are assured abundance?  “The virtue lies in the struggle, not the prize,” wrote  poet Richard Milnes. And a prize won through effort can be so much sweeter than a gift. 

It occurs to me that this may be why so many cradle Catholics drift away from the Church. Unlike converts, the faith was just handed to them . . . they didn’t have to work for it. At Our Lady of Walsingham, the work of pursuing a deeper understanding of the faith is not only arduous, it’s continuous.   

When we moved the school a few years ago from a newer building to the older facility on the campus of Corpus Christi Parish, life became a little less comfortable. But what did we gain? The personal attention of our chaplain, Corpus Christi pastor Father Brian Roeseler; the wisdom of our theology teacher, Father Sean McCann; and ready access to confession and the other sacraments.  So worth it.

Struggle also provides certainty. In our studies, we don’t just read about Thomas Aquinas. We dig into his difficult original texts and we’re able to see not just a reiteration of Church teaching, but a dissection of it. We don’t study a textbook interpretation but hear the actual voice of Doctor Angelicus. We know not just what the Church claims, but, guided by Aquinas, we can prove it.  

My time at Our Lady of Walsingham has been a time of suffering, but also a time when I learned that we are made for suffering. The Roman philosopher Boethius observed that God orders all to the good, so even adversity reflects God’s will. Obstacles test our resilience, shape our character, and strengthen our resolve.

And so, when it comes to struggle, we do more than just grin and bear it. We seek it out. Because becoming the person God wants me to be is only possible by “mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.” In the end, we don’t receive an education at this high school; we achieve it. 

Life is hard. Life is pain. So worth it.

(For more information, visit www.olwclassical.org.)