There is this missionary who comes over every week. You feed him, listen to his message, talk about everything, and see him grow. You pray for him every day. He gets transferred, you follow him on Facebook, you both look forward to stake conference where you get a few minutes to catch up. You pray for him every day.
He goes home, and updates and messenger conversations are becoming less and less frequent. You are feeding different missionaries, you pray for different missionaries daily, but you still pray for him.
He gets married, graduates college, goes onto grad school, has a baby and then a few more, starts his professional career. Personal contact is on birthdays and Christmas, but you still like each other’s posts, and you pray for him.
He comes back, showing his wife and children where he spent the best two years before they came along, and they come to church, and then for dinner, and you also make nuggets and fries for the kids, but you make his favorite dish. A hug, a photo together, and they are gone again, but you pray for all of them.
His kids are now teenagers, one on a mission, one getting married, he is serving in the stake presidency, you are slowly becoming a néni, who still feeds missionaries, and you keep praying for them. You might not remember all of their names and faces, but they always have a couch in your home, and a plate on your table. And then there is him, and the ones like him, who you will never forget. You cherish the photos from long ago, and you rejoice in their successes, and offer comfort when they hurt.
And he comes back again, and again. You are both graying, you a little more than him, and your faces bare witness of your summers in the sun, but you still see the 20-year-old missionary, and he the young woman you once were. And you continue to pray for each other.
One day, when both of you have completed this mortal adventure, you will see each other, probably wearing white, surrounded by family and friends, and a whole eternity when you can share that love and friendship that started over a bowl of goulash in your living room.
Because friendships are eternal.
So This Woman 