by Marilyn Ehle
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“Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…� Colossians 3:17
His entire career had been spent in the university classroom, not only lecturing in his chosen field but also encouraging students to always reach for higher goals. He loved the challenge of young minds as well as the personal intellectual and scientific growth, but the mandatory retirement age was looming. He couldn’t imagine filling each day with golf or fishing; he wondered what kind of stimulation lay ahead.
And then came the phone call from a young man he had known years earlier as a campus minister, a man he remembered who built life-changing relationships with students while leading them toward fuller understanding of life with Jesus Christ. Could they meet for coffee?
The scheduled hour flew by and turned into three. Would the professor consider a new career after the classroom: meeting regularly with faculty to share his personal faith in Christ and help those who expressed interest to walk into spiritual maturity. His heart quickened as he thought of the possibilities. He could be an influencer of the influencers. He would remain in academia albeit with a different perspective, an eternal perspective.
Today this professor remains in the hallowed halls he loved so much but he enthusiastically awakens each morning with the knowledge that in a very real sense, his career is just beginning.
Father, thank you for the wide roads of opportunity that lay ahead for each of your children. There truly are no closed doors for your Spirit, no end to a life of serving you.
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http://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/2009/08/24/me_retired/