Writing to Speed, Lincoln thanks him for his advice about his love affair with Mary Todd , which has been troubling him since January 1, 1841. "I believe," he writes, "God made me one of the instruments of bringing your Fanny and you together, which union, I have no doubt He had fore-ordained. Whatever he designs, he will do for me yet."Abraham Lincoln to Joshua F. Speed, 4 July 1842, CW, 1:288-90.