In 2002 I presented a close colleague of mine a small token
of my appreciation for our friendship in the form of a jewelry-sized Hope
Box. I placed a note in it and told him
that no matter where our careers took us, I hoped that our friendship would
never die.
Fast forward to 2016.
The Hope Box was long forgotten by me.
While in his office on a recent visit he placed it in front of me and
asked if I remembered giving it to him all those years ago. I honestly couldn’t recall the moment when I
did, but the hand written note inside was definitely penned by me. Below my note he wrote one of his own. In so many words, he told me that he was
thankful for our friendship and thanked God for all He’s done to keep us close
over the years.
Back then, the Hope Box was nothing more to me than a show
of gratitude to a man whose friendship I always cherished. Never in my wildest dreams would I have
imagined that the Hope Box and the note inside would one day symbolize that we
would be working together again.
In 2002 I left my teaching job, for a trainer position with
the federal government. My friend was
the building principal at the time of my departure. He and I spoke often over the years, keeping
track of our families, our ups and downs, and our shared interests. Both of our careers progressed – he to
California to serve as the superintendent of schools for a large, private
Christian school, and me to Washington, DC as an deputy training director, then
on to Texas and into the private sector as a process improvement engineer.
In 2012 my friend returned from California, accepting the
position of superintendent for the same school we worked together at in 2002. Over the next four years he and I spoke on
several occasions about the possibility of me returning from Texas and coming
to work for him again in some capacity or other. Little did either of us know that in 2016 I
would accept a position from the church organization that now partners full
time with his school. As in 2002, he and
I will once again be working together side by side.
Throughout the years the Hope Box has come to mean far more
than a simple gift and token of appreciation.
The Hope Box was a means that God used to keep my friend and I bonded. I’d also like to that the It somehow had a
part in bringing us back together in a working capacity. The Hope Box has helped me realize that each
of our lives run full circle.
A Common Man
