Lifetime of the Opportunity

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It has been almost two years since I ‘expired’ from the YSA program in my Faith, having turned 31 and become too old to be with the young single people. Shortly before this matriculation, my bishop, who is also a relative, took me aside to give me some advice and inspired counsel. Among what he told me was this: “Although it is important to ‘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 so that we cannot make a thoughtful and prayerful choice.” When he told me that, I felt that it was true. The energy of that notion resonated within me so that I knew that at least for me it was a true statement.

It is Satan and his carnival barkers who tell us that if we don’t step right up and call in the next 30 minutes that we will lose out on every chance to have what everyone must have. According to him, if we don't act now, everything will fall apart and be lost! He is the snake oil salesman who says the chance will never come again, for he comes this way but once. The Great Deceiver tells us that we must act now before we lose out forever and ever on something that we desire and that others ostensibly have. This is why so many choices I believe are made for expediency, because at least then we got out of the moment what we wanted in the moment. This is also however why so many people are unhappy, because the chief cause for failure and unhappiness in this world consists in trading what we desire most for what we desire in the moment.

As I have advanced from one relationship to the next, none of which have ever actually been ended because I decided to end them, I have seen that each subsequent one is an upgrade in total over the previous one. Most young people, however, think that if they don’t snag someone soon, they will miss out entirely on the opportunity to spend their lives with someone they love. By this notion, the adversary of truth has planted the misbegotten notion of soul mates, and many a young person has wasted away trying to win back someone who was wrong for him for fear he might have no other chances. Even worse, myths such as the notion that any man over 26 and single is a ‘menace to society’ encourage people to do the right things for the wrong reasons. Why we do a thing matters at least as much as what we do.

We ostensibly believe in a God of mercy who extends second and third chances until seventy times seven in some cases. How can we possibly believe that if we miss this one chance all hope is lost? That kind of a notion betrays that we do not have faith in our Faith. God is also faithful, and if something is removed from us despite our best efforts, it is because He intends to bless us with something better. If the chance passes by quickly and we have not been able to reason it out, make a choice, and ask God to certify that choice, the chance was probably to help us pay attention to and prepare for a future eventuality so that next time we are ready, able, and inclined to act upon that window of opportunity, even if it’s not with the exact same circumstances or people. As consequence of some of these small windows, I have considered what I will choose in certain situations and am ready to act if and when they present themselves again.

My friends have chastised me for not availing myself of the opportune moment and getting phone numbers of intelligent, athletic, and attractive girls I meet in my journeys. I tell them that if those people were important, I will see them again. When I was serving as a missionary, there was a young lady also serving to whom I was attracted. I had however read “Lock Your Heart” and determined that if she were important I would meet her somewhere else afterwards and be able to move forward. By the time I reestablished contact, she was long and happily married to someone else, and so I knew I had done well. I do not do what I do for the ulterior motive of getting a date. I spend my life living happily and ask God to help me recognize the opportunities when they present them. If I were to meet one of these young ladies again, I would act upon it. Years have literally passed in some cases, and I have not seen them again, but each one of those has prepared my mind for what I will do at the time when someone or something arrives that seems good and wise. When the time comes, I trust I will either be ready or that God will be merciful and give me another chance.

That is the fundamental principle of my Faith, that we are humans, that we make mistakes, and that we have a Savior to make up for the fact that we will be foolish and rebellious. In essence, Christ saves us from ourselves, and there are times when that knowledge brings me great peace, joy, and hope for the future, even if that far green country is distal in space and time from where I am today.