Nothing Good Gets Away

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Last night, I went to my library in search of something useful to tell to a friend. She has been wondering, as I have in the past and as perhaps you may have as well, if the 'love' upon which she thought she could rely in the representations of a young man she liked was ever real. I came upon an old book given to me a few years back by a dear friend and found something I didn't expect to find.

Over the last few weeks, I have been studying Aristotle's Ethics in conjunction with some of the books I'm writing. Aristotle warns of the kind of adolescent affinity which captures youth. Being primarily driven by emotions and a desire for pleasure, it could be said of them as Sabatini's Moreau says of himself that they "fall in love constantly, indiscriminately" and that "the effect is the same as if [they] never fell in love at all". You see, their 'love' is really driven by a desire for self-satisfaction, because they view, as I have addressed in a previous post, the other person as an object.

In this particular volume, John Steinbeck was responding to a letter from his eldest son. On the occassion of this letter, his son Thom found himself for the first time I imagine taken by a woman, and he wrote to inform and inquire of his father. John makes two salient points. First of all, he differentiates between the debilitating selfish love (which is lustful) that makes us weak as opposed to the deep truer love that elevates our natures and inspires us to elevate others. Secondly, he points out that good things are things upon which one can rely. IN response to his son's worries about his prospects, Steinbeck writes "And don’t worry about losing. If it is right, it happens — The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away." Good things happen in their own time if we are wisely patient and persistent.

While serving as a missionary in Austria over a decade ago, I went through a particularly troubling time. After a very frustrating day where the hearts and words of the people we encountered rivaled the weather to see which was colder, Elder Young sat down with me to await a bus to make a rendezvous with other missionaries. As I sat there and told him how I felt, he told me an interesting thing. He told me that God knows what He wants done, and usually no matter how hard we try, we cannot mess it up.

I have wondered over the last few years as I face frustration after frustration in the field of romantic relationships, family prospects, and the like, if I have done something wrong somewhere. A wise Bishop told me that "although you should be ready to act on the opportunity of a lifetime during the lifetime of the opportunity, the lifetime of the opportunity will not be so short that you cannot make a rational and prayerful decision." If it is wisdom in God and passes rapidly by, it is to make our attention ready to either catch the same circumstance when it round trips or to be looking and prepared for a similar one when it arrives.

Good things like good people are constant. No matter what minor mistakes you might make, people who are good people and who are good for you will stay. Perhaps for this reason, I hear so many people tell me that I'm a good friend- for no other reason other than that I am still there despite our arguments or falling out moments.  Good people are patient and persistent, not just waiting, but actively engaged in that which eventually will bring us to what and to be what we truly desire.

Several years ago, when something for which I really hoped did not transpire as I liked, I came to this conclusion. It has ruled my life when I am coherant, and I summarize my experiences simply by saying that "What should be will be when the time is right." Too often, particularly with people, we try to impose both our will and our timing over the agency of others. However, if something is really good and virtuous and good for us, it will still be good and good for us even if we are not good or go contrary to its power to better us. Not that we actively campaign to prove it or run contrary to it, but that inasmuch as our inadequacies are brought to light in the course of our living, good things and good people will be constant sufficient so that the right things will happen without being forced.

Anyone who believes in a loving God does well to remember that God desires to give His children good gifts. If it leads to growth, development, a better way, and a better life, then it is something He desires for us to have. When it involves the agency of another person, He will invite and inspire them, if they seek His counsel, to reason together with you and join you for the duration and scope of that association. As we endeavor to trust in God and look to Him for inspiration, making those rational and prayerful decisions, He will lead us to good things, to a goodly land, and to a good life. Nothing good gets away if we partner with the Source of All Goodness and trust both His wisdom and timing.