Thank you, Sarah

A couple of months ago, I moved to a new place. Been settled in for a while now but one thing that reminds me that I am still relatively new to the place is the fact that the previous occupant of the apartment still has her mail sent there. I've lived many places in my life, and receiving the occasional piece of somebody else's mail to my address isn't uncommon. However, with Sarah's mail, its entirely different.

Normally, when you move somewhere new, you complete a change of address form and the post office delivers your mail to your new address. It's not a fool proof process as sometimes mail slips through the post office's filter, but its fairly accurate nonetheless.

But clearly, Sarah never filled out such a card.

On a daily basis, mail comes in for her. I got her W-2, mail from the MVA for her car registration, correspondence from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, personal letters hand addressed from people I imagine are her friends. I've received bills for bottled water, which I guess she had special delivered to the place.

I've also learned many things about Sarah.

She is an alumni of the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University. She works in the medical field in project management. She shops at Sam's Club and does care for her health.

Returning mail has been quite the process. I typically let it collect, and then go though it, returning to sender stuff that would be important to her. Hopefully these organizations will know that she hasn't been getting what they have been sending.

Anyway, the point of this story is this.

In the process of junking the junk mail, I have come across these apparently free magazines about project management. This week I have been reading them, and have come to recognize that professionally, this is actually the career path I should take. Based on life experience, project management is actually where I thrive and have a natural knack for.

Yes, I am in school working on getting my masters of divinity, and that is absolutely my life plan. However, aside from being a pastor, based on my seminary training thus far, and the pitfalls of ministry, I've learned that as an individual, I need to have a "backup career." I don't know where my first paying job in ministry will be. And who knows how stable a career path it will offer me.

However, with a focus on project management, and acquiring advanced certification, I will make myself marketable both in the "real world" of work, but it will serve as an awesome compliment to ministry. I'm pretty excited about the thought of it.

This is an option I didn't realize existed. I didn't know that the job of a "project manager" actually was an industry in and of itself. I wouldn't have realized this if the prior occupant of my apartment had filled out the card from the post office to have her mail forwarded to her.

For this I say: Thank you, Sarah.