The Best Relationship

            After a months-long hiatus I’m back to blogging. I knew I couldn’t stay away forever. I’m never sure how useful my musings are to the general population, but I learn a lot by writing my thoughts down rather than letting them swirl endlessly in my mind. Writing is just one way to express the feelings of the heart. Perhaps you’ve taken up music, art, or some other form to communicate your thoughts.

            One basic human need is companionship. I’ve thought at length about three video clips produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, all of which I first saw on my mission. These videos expose us to real people who, for a variety of reasons, felt the emptiness that resulted when a companion was lost or never found. Naturally these losses left them feeling…well, lost—and heartbroken, discouraged, and empty.

            But these are stories of triumph, not tragedy, and the dominant theme in these threads is this—“no matter what I experience in life I will be faithful to my covenants and I will be faithful to God. My relationship with Him is most important. Further companionship is a blessing and a bonus.”

            Love empowered Chris to forgive when teenager Cameron, driving drunk, killed his wife and several children in a car accident. The incident left him feeling “crushed: spiritually, emotionally, and physically.” But Chris noticed that when he prayed God didn’t immediately try to solve all his problems. He listened with love. He allowed Chris to vent his anger. And then He taught him about His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Atonement. He allowed Chris to let go of a burden that would have destroyed him. And in finding the power to forgive Chris enabled Cameron and his parents to let go of poisonous memories that would have dulled their futures forever. “I was just completely overcome,” Cameron’s mother, Marilyn, said. “It was like…the despair was being washed out from my soul.”

            Love motivated an anonymous young wife to mend when her husband revealed he had been unfaithful and wanted a divorce. The announcement came during the holidays, and the crushing secret ruined what should have been an enjoyable time with family. Heartbroken and hopeless, the woman gladly took her crying young niece to another room in order to be alone. Here, overcome with emotion, overwhelmed by a burden she felt she couldn’t carry on her own, she realized she was not, in fact, alone. Looking into the infant’s innocent eyes she felt these words impel her heart with force: “You’re not holding me; I’m holding you.” The woman realized the Lord was shouldering her tremendous sorrow.

            Love allowed Ty to look past cultural expectations and postponed dreams and embrace a challenge that frustrated him. A titanic struggle with same-sex attraction left him wondering if he belonged in the Lord’s Church. Years of painful loneliness preceded a glorious experience of divine love—a reassurance of superior power in which the Lord told Ty, “Just stay with me; one day at a time.” In order to overcome this significant challenge Ty had to acknowledge that he might never enjoy marriage in this life. And he was okay with that. God first, companionship second. He said, “I express gratitude always to the Lord for that divine communication which really transformed my approach to this issue which has ultimately led me to where I’m at today”…happily married, by the way.

            We all long for meaningful relationships. Sometimes those relationships are tragically cut short. Sometimes they are destroyed by the reckless avarice of a former soul mate. Sometimes they happen much later than we hope they will. Sometimes they never even start.

            But there is one relationship that can be eternal. It is not temporary, it will not be sabotaged, and it can begin the very moment we want it to. A relationship with Jesus Christ is the best relationship we can develop. I feel the power of His love in the words of this hymn:

At the throne I intercede;

For thee ever do I plead.

I have loved thee as thy friend,

With a love that cannot end.