An Occasion | Samantha Leming

Lots of interesting people came into the New Harmony Shell Station while I worked there. Certainly, not the least of which was an elderly man, who after making his transaction, looked at me and asked me if I had a boyfriend. I told him yes, but that he was ten thousand miles away in Paris, France serving a mission for the church. The man nodded, and then, without hesitation told me to hold on to the people I loved. I thought about what the man had said for a moment, tears welling up in my eyes. When my coworker came over, I told him what happened and he seemed to shrug the incident off.

I have considered this man and his statement long and hard for many months, and wondered what happened to him. I have thought about Tom, the missionary whom I loved at the time, and even though a year and a half later, I am now engaged (to the coworker who was there the night I received that message), I have continued to think about that message. I have thought about change, and the way we choose to accept or deny it.

Change is always denied, and thought of in negative ways. The weather changes for the worse. The gas prices change for the worse. A person's health always changes for the worse. Bills, house prices, car prices, the economy, and television lineups always change for the worse. It seems that this man's life, changed for the worse. "...some changes can be disarming and disturbing." Change destroys lives, and demeans our existence.

My life changed once. I met a young man who cared about everyone he met, and cared about me before I recognized his existence. We were the best of friends - I even let him read my cards to Tom and gave him the leftover cookies. We shared workloads, sandwiches, and cheesy pick-up lines. My life changed again. He kissed me, told me that he loved me, and asked me to be his wife. My life changed quite a bit. Soon, I realized that maybe change doesn't destroy lives. Maybe sometimes, it does the exact opposite.

I never saw that man who delivered that message again. He walked out of my life the moment he said those words, but I hope that he has found solace and acceptance in that change that was forced upon him. Perhaps, change destroyed this man's life, but maybe, just maybe, it opened his eyes, and opened his doors. Maybe change can open ours too.