The Ash Wednesday Lesson that Changed My Life

There is one day a year that I wear my faith on my forehead. Yes, on Ash Wednesday anyone who crosses my path can see that I’m a Christian.

And while I’ve been wearing the ashen cross since I was a child, it wasn’t until college that I grasped the meaning behind it. It took a major disappointment for me to learn a lesson that still impacts me today.

I was eighteen years old and a freshman student at the University of Alabama. I’d just tried out for Capstone Men and Women, a prestigious organization of university ambassadors.

As most Alabama alums know, making this team is a big deal. It’s a competitive, two-interview process made more daunting by the overall caliber of applicants.

With just a few slots open, the odds were against me, but I figured I had a shot. My grades and leadership experience had always opened doors for me, so why would this be any different?

Unfortunately, my first interview was a flop. I was so nervous going in, and in the formal atmosphere—where multiple people took…