I am in Montreal having my exit interviews before leaving my company. There have been the obligatory where do you stand with this project and who are your primary contacts for that activity? A lot of information given and a few war stories shared. It is down to the last few hours of employment with the company I have worked for 23 years. I guess I am getting a little nostalgic. As I think back over the time I see mostly faces and remember mostly shared experiences – experiences that have shaped me, changed me, helped make me the man I am today. While many of the experiences were hard and challenging at the time, growth and maturity were most often the result. And many of the experiences that were so uncomfortable at the time are now the source of laughter and merriment in hindsight.
As I have thought about my last words to the friends I have made and the persons who make up this company I am leaving, I realize I probably won’t be able to effectively communicate all that is on my heart… lessons learned but not yet common practice… opportunities that stand right before us but often overlooked or unrealized. A few thoughts stand out.
We make it harder on each other to be successful sometimes when we really need to see that we are on the same team.
The importance to be more diligent at communication than we often are because poor communication only makes it harder the next time.
The absolute necessity of being able to admit we have made a mistake when we have and to turn around and make things as right as we can.
The need to know and understand our co-workers at a deeper level. The best sports teams have that special ingredient outsiders often call “chemistry”. That comes from knowing and valuing those you work with.
Twenty three years of immersing myself in my work has marked me. I do not want to leave feeling I have not done my share to “pay it forward” for those who have poured into my life. Today’s few words, and this blog for that matter, are my attempt to do that.
As I spoke with my brother last night the thought hit me that every one of us will have times of exiting. It may be a job like myself, it may be a group you’ve belonged to for a long time, or certainly the exit of this life for the next. I am curious, what is the key point or points that you would want to be sure to share if you are given an exit interview before you leave this life? What one thing have you found to be the most helpful truth in this life that you would want someone to know? Please comment back to me with your thoughts.
May the Lord make His face shine upon you.
May the road rise up to meet you.
May all your experiences enrich you.
And may your life be full to overflowing.
I wish you all the best today, in Jesus Name.
areliablefaith 
I would want to share the mistakes I have made, so hopefully others would not make those same mistakes. The most important would to not stay in your errors/sin. The biggest thing I have gotten from life is staying in your errors/sin can only hurt you. You have to move past your mistakes. It’s like golf, if you hit a bad shot you must move on from it. If not it will trouble you the rest of your round. Learning from your mistakes is important but don’t keep beating yourself up because you made them.
Great post Dad. Remember, don’t be sad, this is just another beginning. To answer your questions though, I would share the meaning of life.
L – Love
I – Is
F – For
E – Everyone
God’s love is for everyone, and our love is for everyone; despite our faults, despite our mistakes, despite our attempts to shy away from another’s love. Love is the meaning of life, and it is for everyone.
In my exit interview of this life, I want to thank God for the experiences that shaped me. I want Him to know that I learned lessons (the hard way, but still learned them) and that His messages did not fall on deaf ears. I also want Him to know I did my best, even when my best meant failing sometimes. And I want His forgiveness, for taking so long to learn these lessons, and for all the lives that past me by that I could have impacted but did not.
This post it truly hitting me at a perfect time. It ‘s the end of another school year and several of my friends are graduating. Although the 4-5 years spent in college are short compared to our lives beforehand and hopefully to our lives afterward I believe that they are very crucial years. I had lunch with one of my friends who is graduating tomorrow and it amazed me that she had such a sense of dissapointment that she didn’t do more while she was here at Lander. she had talked to more people, forgiven petty disputes and experienced more activities in her last weeks at Lander than in her entire 5 years before. This is one part of what I would want to pass on to others. Don’t hold yourself out of opportunites and experiences because you are scared or frustrated or too caught up in this world. . . As pastor P says, we have to Go ALL In and experience all that God wants us to in this life by not holding back and jumping head first into his love and purpose for our life.
The second point I would want to pass on is just like what Jeff said. We aren’t perfect! We will make mistakes . . . our job is to not try to hide that from others but try our best to live as God commands and when we don’t praise God for his AMAZING GRACE!
I didn’t see your comment until after I read JC & RC’s. I just had the Lord speak to my unease through the three of you in a marvelous way. You don’t know what a blessing you are to me (and to many others!) I am praying for your steps to be led by our Father as you encounter all that He has purposed for you to walk in. I love you.
Thanks JC and RC. Your thoughts are perfectly timed. As I started this day with a little apprehension, I needed to be reminded to let go of the mistakes and experience the day today fully trusting in God to guide me through. I love you guys more than you know.