President Uchtdorf once said, "In light of what we know about our eternal
destiny, is it any wonder that whenever we face the bitter endings of life,
they seem unacceptable to us? There seems to be something inside of us that
resists endings...endings are not our destiny."
Yet so much of our mortal
life is driven by what seems to us as the absolute termination of one phase of
life or other. We tend to look back
longingly, somehow feeling that even if we were able to put all the pieces back
just how they were, things would never again be the same. In my experience, that is true. The philosopher Heraclius said that “No man
ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not
the same man.” But for the child of God
who lives the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the second time will be better than the
first.
Next Sunday I will go to
the homecoming of one of my best friends from childhood. Because of the way our missions overlapped, I
haven't seen him in three years. Those
three years have been some of the most transformative years of my life, as I am
sure they have been for him. It will be
a very different person who steps into the river this second time, but it will
also be a better person. For me our
friendship is not determined by the identity or circumstance of either of us,
but by the series of decisions I made a long time ago to bind my heart to his. I don't expect things to be exactly the same
as they were when we were kids, but for me they don't need to be. In my opinion, some of the best things in
life are unconditional.
Our connection with
another human being can be independent of our bond with any other person. They can be stronger or weaker, but they can
also be personal and individual. Think
of the Savior. Is His love for you in
any way diminished by His love for billions of others?
Periods of life
begin. And then they end. But some things continue on, growing brighter
and brighter until the perfect day. In
my opinion, some of the most important things in life are eternal.
Why do we dislike
endings? We dislike them because we
love. For me, that love is worth the
price of painful separation because I know that most goodbyes do not last
forever. Because to love means to live,
if you just replace the "i." Because happiness is not found in a
perfect scantron or a fun hobby or a successful job, but in the consecration
and sometimes sacrifice of those things for the people who matter most, for in
reality mortal trivialities are but the spindles around which tapestries of
everlasting fabric are woven. The great
love that casteth out all fear and never faileth is the power behind the Power
who ended His pre-mortal existence one night in Bethlehem many centuries ago that
He might descend below all things so that the plan of our salvation might begin. That love is the light that penetrates the
dark immensity of space, giving life and home to all things. Yes, it is true,
In my opinion, the greatest things in life never end.
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