I have a confession to make. I only attended one year of college.

I started working full time when I was 18 years old and have been at it pretty much ever since with a short hiatus when our boys were babies. During which time, by the way, I worked the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life. But that’s a post for another day.

The thing is, every time the college conversation comes up I feel extreme shame and want to change the subject and fast! I am self taught – I have an insatiable curiosity about my job and my world that means I am constantly reading and learning. I may not have a college degree but I am in no way uneducated.

The church where I currently serve and where I was ordained affirms that I am fit to do my job. And in all humility I can say that yes, I am. I know my job and how to do it and I feel called, equipped and empowered to do it well.

And yet there’s always this nagging shame.

A local high school student called me last night and asked to interview me for her school paper because she admires me as a leader. And sadly, my first thought was not “wow, what an honor!” but “wow, she’s gonna ask me about my education. I hate that.”

I’m working through it. My journey is, after all, MY journey. There is no one size fits all in this world. College isn’t the right path for everyone and we should all be life-long learners. Being uneducated is a state of mind and if you earn that degree (or lots of them) and then decide you’re done learning you’re really in trouble. This is, after all, the information age. Stuff changes pretty fast.

So my question to you is this:

What is the thing about your journey that brings you shame?

This journey that God gave you and you’ve learned from and loved from and led from?

Maybe it’s an early marriage and divorce that you don’t talk about. Maybe it’s a drug or alcohol addiction that you’ve put behind you. Sort of. Maybe it’s a job you were fired from and you wish you could just forget about.

We all have something. And the ironic thing is, those things about our journey are usually what we’ve learned the most from and what have made us who we are! And they are what God intends for us to use and grow from and teach others through.

I’m now 43 years old and have been in the workplace for over 2 decades. I think it’s fair to say I’ve learned a lot. What I lack in a piece of paper hanging on my wall I have in knowing how to work as part of a team, how to lead well and how to navigate conflict. Because I’ve had lots of practice. And maybe, someday, when my boys are grown, I’ll go back and get that piece of paper. But it will be because I want to, not because I have to.

So I’m not going to be ashamed anymore of my lack of a college degree. Because my journey is my journey! God has used me well. And he will continue to do so. So I will not be ashamed. I will be grateful.

May we all boldly proclaim that in all our circumstances, God has been good. And our journey is valid and beautiful.

Jen