A ministry of stories

Recruiting for a Christian college has always had its ups and downs but, one thing that has always been consistent, is the heart-to-heart conversations I get to have with people whose stories apparently need to be told. Earlier this week, I had two conversations that just caused me to stop and realize that my job in sales is not necessarily the product I'm selling but it's becoming a part of the life of the consumer who is making a huge step in their life.

The first conversation was with a young lady that I recruited to come to Abilene Christian out of high school back in 2002. Melinda just graduated with her master's degree earlier this month and had been in a long relationship with a guy she had dated and had let herself get really close to. The joy of completing a graduate degree was overshadowed by the heartbreak of a guy that has decided not to commit to a serious relationship with her. I've had many conversations with Melinda over the last seven years and really enjoy her heart and spirit as she's shared part of her life with my wife and I. Listening to the tears over the phone as she figured out what to do next was the hard part. Years of hard work and academic success were put to the side as I let her know that God was looking over her and taking care of her now and for the long run. I felt honored to know that I was on her list of people to confide in at such a pivotal time in her life.

The second conversation was with a lady who was wanting to take a second chance at Lipscomb. She had started school there in the mid-90's and left due to family circumstances. Her father was a Church of Christ minister on the east coast and had passed away. Felicia, the lady that I met with, never came back to Lipscomb. The opportunity to pick back up and get back on her feet academically didn't really show itself to her until recently when she moved back to Tennessee and attended a community college. Sitting in our conference room, she told me of a professor at Lipscomb that sat and prayed with her when she learned of her father's passing and how angry she was that this had to happen just as she was getting things started. Her father though had abused her physically and mentally so, when he passed away, she stepped away from her family, the church and God. She never formally thanked that professor for spending that time with her and now, after almost 12 years, she hopes to get that chance this fall and return to Lipscomb.

I've battled internally recently about where God needs me to be and where I can do the most work. Most of my day consists of academic records and keeping my two student workers, Brittany and Rebecca, busy. I get to share their lives as well as the others in my office. I get to listen to peoples history almost every day and help them decide their futures whether they are 17 or 47. I talk to people who have served in Iraq and are ready to capitalize on a free education, to parents who are excited about their children get a second chance at college even if the first one didn't work out so well and people who may have lost their jobs who are now taking advantage of something they haven't had in years....time.

I'm thankful for conversations even if I'm not the one doing most of the talking. I'm just thankful for God putting me at a place where I can see lives changing every day.