Mission Engage

‘Cause we all have wings

But some of us don’t know why

- INXS, “Never Tear Us Apart”

If you’ve felt like you’ve been constrained and trapped inside a box, unable to take off the runway, and stuck, I want you to know that even slow to grow butterflies eventually get their wings ’cause we all have wings. This is part of my story on how I realized I had finally developed my wings and how choosing a word for the upcoming year can help you with your wings or whatever you’re experiencing…

Flying over Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont during the middle of winter captivated me. As I leaned over the man who sat in the coveted window seat, I could see the lake’s frozen cracks and crevasses form a pattern on the ice. As I gazed on, I knew I was entering a different world.

During that year in 2005, I was attending Burlington College’s Orientation for new and returning students. The flight marked my first low residency to finish working on my bachelor’s degree.

There were students from around the world who came to the college. We were all on the path together, putting one foot in front of the other on this journey towards our dreams. I was on the path to writing and teaching about God. I wanted to write kids stories, adult stories, movies, and songs and create animated cartoons.

During the meeting with Genevieve, an English teacher, I was given a prophecy about my path. I dismissed it at the time. She met with a group of us to discuss the boring topic of research papers and decided to liven the event by pulling out a deck of cards.

These cards, she said, were given to her by a student. The cards were special because the student who gave them to her died about a year or sooner after he gifted her the cards, being in his early twenties when he passed away .

On the cards were various animals and insects that represented the card puller’s journey. She had brought the cards as a part of her tradition when meeting new students. {Continue reading…}