So, I got something today, after having designed it yesterday, that I haven’t had since I left ECU’s College of Education back in 2004, where I had been a Visiting Assistant Professor–I got cards. When I completed my doctorate in 2003 and signed on for one academic year in the Department of Educational Leadership, the department’s administrative assistant (who also happened to be the person who whipped my nearly 300 page dissertation into APA shape) surprised me by having cards made for me. These cards were my very first higher education ones, and I distinctly remember how they made me think of the “business” cards I had in the last school system I had worked in before deciding to pursue another advanced degree. Those other cards, from my post as a teacher/program administrator of language minority students and families, were bilingual (Spanish/English) ones–and they too had made me feel quite professional; I remember thinking how cool it felt to be declared “official” in some way.
When I picked up my cards today, I noticed that I felt very differently toward them. As I talked about the cards with the woman who had put them together for me and I caught myself referring to them as “business” cards, I very quickly self-corrected. “It just doesn’t sound right to call them that. These aren’t business cards really. I’m not sure what to call them actually. Maybe mission or purpose cards because that’s more what I think they are,” I said. She smiled at me and had a curious look on her face, a look that made me wonder if she wanted to ask me to elaborate but just didn’t feel like she should.
I got these cards today because our local Walgreens has very graciously arranged a book signing for me tomorrow from 11:00-1:00 pm (and the store is the one off of Hwy. 98 near the Super Target in case anyone is interested in dropping by for a visit). And, if you do decide to drop by, you can actually leave with a mission/purpose card–several, in fact, if you’re willing to take them and share them with others. As I’ve said many times before, one of my primary reasons for sharing what I write through publishing and/or speaking is to encourage those around me to give God a chance–a “real” chance to save their lives, both literally and figuratively. That’s certainly what he’s done for me too many times to even count. When I write/speak, it’s also to remind myself that God really is all that he claims to be. So, I am glad that I now have cards to carry with me to remind me and others that all of the work, even the most worthy work, that any of us ever does down here will only fulfill us so much–unless and until God’s part of it; because, when all that we’ve ever known here ends, I believe only his works will remain.
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