Hello, Goodbye
I just deleted 2,017 emails out of my Inbox. I cleared another 8 folders with hundreds more archived emails. It feels good to get rid of the old/unused/no-longer-needed notes and messages I've kept over the years. It was also nostalgic to glance through a few and see how things have changed.
For the past 12 years I've come to the campus of Liberty University as my place of employment. In some capacity, I've occupied an office and a title, interacting with faculty and students, and making my very small mark on an ever-expanding campus that has its own global impact.
I've been here long enough to see former students become colleagues. Around every corner, I can look at various offices, classrooms and buildings and recall involvement in the planning, even the decorating. Now I'm packing up yet another office, only this time I'm not moving across campus. I put 8 yearbooks in a box. Six of which boast national awards. The last one given the highest honor in the country. I'm proud of these accomplishments, but even more proud of the students who are now teaching their own students. That is truly the greatest of accomplishments.
Now it's time to say goodbye. Goodbye to this campus that will no longer house my office or be my place of employment. But it's also time to say hello. Hello to the new opportunity and the new world of business that awaits me.
With each ending comes a new beginning. I've learned that lesson well. And this new venture will undoubtedly be no different.
I'm thankful to Liberty, this campus, the vision of Dr. Falwell, and the opportunities and relationships I've enjoyed here. I'd be lying if I didn't say it was bittersweet. I've invested too much time, talent and energy into this campus to not feel a special connection. Yet even as I left the previous office I'd built and grown, and the position that afforded me so much of my own personal and professional growth, I've only ever looked back to recall the stones that mark the altars where I've seen God's faithful hand. Now I enter into this new opportunity eyes-wide-open, knowing full well He's orchestrated this as part of the plan. And so another altar is constructed. Another testament of His provision. Another reminder of His grace.
With joy and anticipation for the road ahead, I say hello.
And with gratitude and reflection for the road I've already traveled, I say goodbye.
For the past 12 years I've come to the campus of Liberty University as my place of employment. In some capacity, I've occupied an office and a title, interacting with faculty and students, and making my very small mark on an ever-expanding campus that has its own global impact.
I've been here long enough to see former students become colleagues. Around every corner, I can look at various offices, classrooms and buildings and recall involvement in the planning, even the decorating. Now I'm packing up yet another office, only this time I'm not moving across campus. I put 8 yearbooks in a box. Six of which boast national awards. The last one given the highest honor in the country. I'm proud of these accomplishments, but even more proud of the students who are now teaching their own students. That is truly the greatest of accomplishments.
Now it's time to say goodbye. Goodbye to this campus that will no longer house my office or be my place of employment. But it's also time to say hello. Hello to the new opportunity and the new world of business that awaits me.
With each ending comes a new beginning. I've learned that lesson well. And this new venture will undoubtedly be no different.
I'm thankful to Liberty, this campus, the vision of Dr. Falwell, and the opportunities and relationships I've enjoyed here. I'd be lying if I didn't say it was bittersweet. I've invested too much time, talent and energy into this campus to not feel a special connection. Yet even as I left the previous office I'd built and grown, and the position that afforded me so much of my own personal and professional growth, I've only ever looked back to recall the stones that mark the altars where I've seen God's faithful hand. Now I enter into this new opportunity eyes-wide-open, knowing full well He's orchestrated this as part of the plan. And so another altar is constructed. Another testament of His provision. Another reminder of His grace.
With joy and anticipation for the road ahead, I say hello.
And with gratitude and reflection for the road I've already traveled, I say goodbye.
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