The brown leather satchel

The brown leather satchel sits in the middle of the living room atop two cardboard boxes, highlighted in the darkness by the dim lamplight shining on it from the corner of the room.  The brown leather satchel.  I have to smile at it with affection.  It’s already been through a lot, and it’s going to go through a lot more.  My spouse gave it to me as a gift when I began graduate school.  I drug that bag through classroom after classroom, once inside out of the elements – rain, sun, wind, snow, hail, sleet, you name it.  That bag withstood loads of books, notebooks, notepads, pens, pencils, stopwatches, 50+-page articles, a laptop computer and charger, testing materials, and a variety of other things that I’ve conveniently forgotten about.  It has a top carrying handle as well as a shoulder strap, both of which have always come in very handy, especially with another armload full of books or what have you being juggled at the same time on my way somewhere across campus, across town, or wherever the classes and tasks led me.  It was always professional looking, even after so much use.  It sits there now, a symbol of success for me, and of a willingness for continued service as long as it can possibly be of use.

I finished my graduate degree a little over five years ago, but have found occasion to use that brown leather satchel for many things at various times and it is a well-worn and dear possession of mine – a sure friend in time of need.  I will need it again now.  I’m going through a professional course offered through the Church that will teach me how to start and grow my own business beginning this coming Sunday, 03 Mar 2019.  My brown leather satchel will be with me the entire 12 weeks, containing my manuals, Scriptures, iPad, MacBook Pro, charging cables – you name it.  I’m excited to have it by my side again, ever a reminder of the fact that I can do anything I set my mind to.  It’s not falling apart in the least – not even a loose thread.  The brown leather satchel…