The Power of a Moment

With Spanish textbooks splayed open upon our desks and Mr. Pacheco rattling on en español, I watched her.

I sat a few seats back and a few rows over, and, bored, I wondered absentmindedly about her life, her family, her aspirations.

Every day, she came to class with a 12 oz. bottle of Coca-cola in tow. She was tiny—maybe not even five feet tall. Her wiry blonde curls barely reached the nape of her neck. She had intelligent, searching, determined eyes.

And then she was gone—killed in a car accident before I ever said hello or asked how she was.
Though I barely knew her, I was shaken by the news of her death. Selfishly, I suppose. My heart ached for what had not been, for missed opportunities and unborn friendships.

I realized the power of a moment—the impact that a bright smile or hello or outstretched hand of friendship can have upon hurting hearts.

More than that, I realized the paramount importance of capitalizing on such moments.

As a college student, my life intersects with hundreds of others on a daily basis. My life is filled with hundreds of daily opportunities to be a friend and to share God’s love.

But how many stones do I leave unturned?

More than I could begin to number.

My classes are filled with faces that I barely know—with people that I have not bothered to reach out to. It shames me to say so, but it is the cold, sad truth: I become so involved in the goings and comings and the mountains and valleys in my own life that I close myself off from the world around me.

But no more, I pray.

The ripples of Karen Lashaye Pesnell’s tragic death stretch far, I am sure. My heart goes out to her family and friends and to all of the people that adored this strong, young soul. My mind cannot even wrap itself around the depths of their pain.

Even beyond those who knew her best, her life, and now her death, are making a difference.

When I walk down a crowded hall, I will remember Lashaye and smile at those that pass.

When I find myself in a classroom full of unfamiliar faces, I will remember Lashaye and reach out.
When I feel a bout of shyness slipping over me like a veil, I will remember Lashaye and make a new friend.

As I live my life, walking the streets and hall of Jacksonville State University, I will remember Lashaye. Her presence in my life was for but a moment, but her absence awakened me to all that my self-centered life was robbing from me.

Each moment is an opportunity.

Each day is a fresh slate.

No longer will I hold my joy inside.

“Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”
Hebrews 13: 1-2