Friday, March 14, 2014

How A Flat Tire Changed My Life:


I have had many people in my life change who I am. One of these experiences happened early on in my mission. This was the summer that you had to change your shirt three times a day if you didn't want to be soaking wet with sweat all day long. I was with my missionary companion and we had just got out of an appointment and we were driving to another when I noticed that we had a flat tire! I pulled over in front of a house in a neighborhood to change it. A woman came outside and saw what had happened. She went and got us glasses of the MOST refreshing ice water that I had ever had. This is a woman that I had never met before but she was instantly doing what she could to help us the very best she could. She said she had a neighbor who was a mechanic. Before we knew what was happening she went and told him what had happened. We could have easily changed the tire. It wasn't an overwhelming task by any means but this woman saw someone in need and immediately acted. Two other guys came out of their house and within moments they had taken the tire off and we were walking up to their garage so that the woman's mechanic friend could fix our tire for us. As they were plugging the tire they gave us bottles of ice cold fruit punch gatorade to drink. Soon we were on our way with a fixed tire, gatorade, and a change of heart. There is something about reaching out to others that is contagious. When it happens to you it makes you want to help someone else so much more. That was a defining moment in my life that changed who I am. We can be the reason someone else smiles today. Change is a good thing. It allows us to become something that we haven't been. If we don't fight it and let it in then that is when the miracles happen in our own lives and we help others to have their own life changing experiences.

I think of the life of Jesus Christ when I think of change. When Jesus Christ was on the earth people would come from miles to simply touch the hem of his clothing or even just get a glimpse of him. Jesus Christ changed people. Some he changed who they were on the inside by changing their heart. Some of them he changed on the outside by performing miracles such as making the blind see, healing the leppers, making the lame walk and many more. This change has found me. It's turned me into someone that I never knew I could be. It's made me into something that I couldn't be on my own. He has asked us all to show that love he had to those around us. "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." (John 13:34)

You're driving down the street and you see someone with a flat tire.
You're walking in the parking lot and pass a mother with three kids screaming and trying to load groceries in her car. You're passing someone who is holding tissues with tears running down their face. These moments are moments of decisions. You don't have an expectation to do anything but it might change this person's world if you did. You can pass by and think oh the next person will help. Or you can start the chain reaction of reaching out to that one person and watch the world change around you.

When has someone changed your life?