Sunday, March 9, 2008

Where I Need to Be

I read an Ensign article several weeks ago that chastised me probably more than it was intended to do. It was about something that was, is, and will always* continue to be something I hate more than anything else: dating. One part of it has especially been pressing on my mind lately.

"Sometimes we must ... accept that the Lord presently needs our talents applied in other areas. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, 'Patience … helps us to realize that while we may be ready to move on, having had enough of a particular learning experience, our continuing presence is often a needed part of the learning environment of others.'"

I've had several experiences in the past week or so that have really driven that point home for me. Let's say that I married the first girl I really liked when I got home. Heck, let's say I got married two weeks ago. Who does those things? Who helps that guy move that huge stack of tables? Who has that talk with that guy in the quorum who was really struggling? Who says that thing in testimony meeting that that one girl really needed to hear? I mean, there are other people that COULD have... but they didn't. I did.

I would love nothing more than to use that as an excuse not to date, but frankly, I have MUCH better excuses not to date. Har har, no, but seriously, is it possible that God would keep me from getting married, in spite of my best efforts to thwart him, because he needs me in this ward, in this house, in this calling? Scratch that--I have given anything but my best effort. But still... hopefully some day I'll be a bit more humble and realize that as long as I'm doing my best to do what he wants me to do, he's going to put me where I'll do the most good, regardless of whether or not that's where I want to be.

*Someone out there is going to think that once I'm married, I won't think dating is so bad. That person is dead wrong. It doesn't matter when, where, how, or even IF I get married; I will always look upon dating as the most evil and vile form of punishment that has ever been thrust upon mankind.

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