There was a certain young man, blessed with wise and devout parents. From his earliest childhood, they taught him to submit to God’s holy will in everything. They also explained that everything that happens is allowed by God for our good.

So whenever anything happened to him, good or bad, this young man would say,

"This is for my greater good. Thanks be to God."

One day, the young man was hurrying to board a ship from France to England. The ship was close to leaving. He ran as fast as he could. But the heavy box he carried on his shoulder made it difficult.

He was so focused on the ship that he didn’t see a block of wood in the street. He stumbled over it and fell. The box fell from his shoulder onto his leg, which broke under the sudden weight.

Laying in the street with a broken leg, he said as he always did,

"This is for my greater good. Thanks be to God."

Meanwhile, some people had rushed over to help him. They were quite surprised to hear him say that.

One person asked, with some frustration,

"How can this accident, which has hindered you from going on your journey, be for your greater good?"

"I cannot tell you," he replied, "but God knows. And although I may never know why He has hindered me from going on this journey - which I thought so necessary and important - He certainly willed it, and that is enough for me. May His blessed will be done."

Some of the people laughed at him and called him foolish. But others were very inspired by what he said.

In the meantime the ship sailed without him, and he was carried home. That night there was a terrible storm, so common on that coast. The next day many shipwrecks were reported. Among the ships lost was the one that the young man was in such a hurry to reach the day before.

When he heard of the tragedy, he said to those around him,

"Wasn’t I right in saying that God sent me a broken leg for my greater good? Don’t you see that if I had been able to reach the ship, I would now be at the bottom of the sea?"

The people saw in this event that God truly is All-Wise and All-Loving. Everything, pleasant or painful, is arranged by Him for our greatest good.

May God grant us all the grace to see and follow His will in our own lives. If we cooperate with His grace, and do not resist His will, then no matter how hard things get, everything will turn out well for us.