Last summer I found out that I had been accepted to the Masters of Accountancy program at UNCC. It was a door that I thought had been shut, and God reminded me once again that His plans are revealed to us on His schedule, not ours. Today I have officially finished the program and can now say that I have a Masters degree. (I still have not fully registered this fact in my mind!)
Admittedly, I thought that this past year was going to be simple. Undergrad was easy for me and I thought that the MAcc program would just be an extension of that. When I received my first test back, I was in shock that I had failed it. I immediately wanted to give up and say that it was not possible for me to do well in this program. I stupidly thought that God had obviously made a mistake and that I was going to disappoint everyone because I wouldn’t be able to make it through the first semester. There were so many days when I would walk in to class with the feeling that everyone in there was thinking that I was wasting my time because I just wasn’t smart enough to be in there.
My whole life school had come easily to me. And when I found out that it was no longer this way, I wanted to give up. I didn’t like that my friends were always out having fun and I had to stay in and study. I convinced myself numerous times that it was okay if I wanted to give up because many people in life never go to grad school and they seemed to turn out okay. But then God would remind me that He called me to this season of life.
It was tough. It was lonely at times. It was exhausting. It was rewarding.
I honestly do not know if I would have been able to make it through without God and His guidance. Just when I thought that I probably wouldn’t even get in to grad school, I get the email that informed me I was accepted. Through the MAcc program I found a job and I have started the CPA exam process. If you would have asked me even a year ago what I was going to do with my life, public accounting and becoming a CPA would have been far removed from the list. But praise God that He intercepts my plans with His greater purpose for my life.
In a few short months I will be starting work at a firm that I cannot wait to become a part of and I will continue to pursue my CPA license. And all of this is only because of God. When God calls us, or, in my case, blatantly shows us where to go, we need to go. But we cannot become idle in our going. We have been called to a place for the work that He has set before us. God shows us where to go so that we can then put ourselves to work. God will sustain us in our working, but we would never grow if God did all of the work for us. Some days we want to be lazy, and some days we want to just rest. And God will give us those days. But may we never become content in our laziness for there is no growth in that state. Work is tough and work is rewarding. Anything worth having is worth working for.
I only know a few details of what is to come in my life, and that is an exciting thought to me. This means that God has more room to work in my life when I leave my schedule open for Him. There are still going to be days where I will want to throw in the towel and walk away. There will still be days when I get lonely or exhausted. But I will remind myself of what God has brought me through to attain this degree and I will know that God will sustain me now. May we never forget to remind ourselves of God’s past faithfulness. And may God continue to provide us hardships to endure as He sustains us for this extraordinary journey of life.
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