I returned to college when I was 42.  My plan was to get my MBA to prepare for another job in Human Resources, my career for the previous 20 years.  I planned to do it quickly over two years, taking courses I knew I could ace without a ton of effort based on knowledge I already had from years of business experience. This plan didn’t work out how I thought it would.  I took my first accounting course and knew my career path was going to change.

Accounting was beautiful to me in a way I can only describe as divine.  It was also very difficult.  Learning accounting at the graduate level required many hours of extra work for me. I was coming at it with a disadvantage.  Most people focusing on accounting in the MBA program had an undergraduate degree in accounting or finance. Mine was in English. I had to study more, practice more, and learn more than my classmates to get the same grades.  Because of this, I also had to take fewer classes each semester than I had originally planned, so my two year program became a four year program.

At times the work was so difficult I cried.  Tears flowed from a place of frustration and fatigue, especially as I entered the fourth year.  It felt like I would never finish, and I was really tired. I was giving a phenomenal amount of time and energy to school, while still trying to be a good mother, wife, church member, and full time employee. The only part of my life that had room to give was sleep. I often forgot to renew myself, both physically and spiritually.

Many times along the way, I felt like settling back into my comfort zone and loading up on courses within my existing field just to get done.  I told myself it would be fine.  I would have my degree, and nobody would care which courses I took to get it.  This was a trap.  I would always know I took the easy way out, and this would cheapen my experience.

The devil puts many traps in our way when we are following God’s path for our lives. Relying only on our own strength instead of God’s is one of these traps. God’s path is usually the hard one. We can only proceed along the hard path if we rely on God to help us. Quitting or becoming comfortable at a certain point in the road is another trap.  We decide where we are is good enough, so we settle for less.  We fail to push on to the destination God had intended for us.  Taking an easier road is yet another trap I almost fell for. I am so glad I stayed on the hard road. The easier road never leads to the same destination as the hard one.

I learned so much about myself and God through this experience. God is faithful in His plans for us. God would never put such a strong desire in my heart if He had not also laid out a path for me to get there.  His plans for me must include the need for this type of education.  It was up to me to faithfully follow His path for me, and trust His strength to help me get to the finish line, no matter how hard the road.