Rejection!
At the risk of sounding juvenile I am going to admit it: over the course of the last couple of months I have developed a crush. There, yes, I sound like a fourth grader getting a crush on a cute girl. But, its hard for me to call it much more than that because I barely know the girl. However, I wanted that to change. I wanted to hang out with this girl, in group settings at first, in the hopes that she and I could learn more about one another. Then, hopefully, we will like what we see and learn and begin to hang out more and maybe even one day date. This seemed pretty far fetched in my eyes too, but I thought "What the hell? I have nothing to lose!" However, I did have something to lose: a little bit of my pride, maybe? I don't know if pride is exactly the best word here, but its that something you seem to lose when you are rejected. Rejection hurts. It comes in a moment when we, defying nature, make ourselves vulrnerable to another/others. I refuse to play out the whole story and throw myself a pity party now because God is amazing. I'm not gonna lie, yesterday when I realized I had been rejected I was pretty hurt. But, this morning, as I woke early to keep studying for my test, I got a very interesting email. See, a long time ago I subscribed to this Max Lucado newletter. For the past few months I have thought about removing myself from it because I never read it anymore. But something inside me felt guilty about removing myself from it, I guess its one of those things the church teaches you is a sin (HA!). Anyway, the following is said email:
Rejections are like speed bumps on the road. They come with the
journey.
You cannot keep people from rejecting you. But you can keep
rejections from enraging you. How? By letting his acceptance
compensate for their rejection.
Think of it this way. Suppose you dwell in a high-rise apartment. On
the window sill of your room is a solitary daisy. This morning you
picked the daisy and pinned it on your lapel. Since you have only one
plant, this is a big event and a special daisy.
But as soon as you’re out the door, people start picking petals off
your daisy. Someone snags your subway seat. Petal picked. You’re
blamed for the bad report of a coworker. Three petals. The promotion
is given to someone less experience but with USC water polo looks.
More petals. By the end of the day, you’re down to one. Woe be to the
soul who dares to draw near it. You’re only one petal-snatching away
from a blowup.
What if the scenario was altered slightly? Let’s add one character.
The kind man in the apartment next door runs a flower shop on the
corner. Every night on the way home he stops at your place with a
fresh, undeserved, yet irresistible bouquet.
These are not leftover flowers. They are top-of-the-line
arrangements. You don’t know why he thinks so highly of you, but you
aren’t complaining. Because of him, your apartment has a sweet
fragrance, and your step has a happy bounce. Let someone mess with
your flower, and you’ve got a basketful to replace it!
The difference is huge. And the interpretation is obvious.
God will load your world with flowers. He hand-delivers a bouquet to
your door every day. Open it! Take them! Then, when rejections come,
you won’t be left short-petaled.
God can help you get rid of your anger.
Take the flowers. Receive from him so you can love or at least put up
with others.
Why do I continue to look at the love from others as the supreme example? I don't know. It boggles the mind how people, who know so little about me, can decide that they don't like me. Yet, there is a God who knows everything about me, every disgusting little detail, and loves me anyway. Instead of brushing me off because of a mistake He pulls me closer and says, "Its okay. Let's learn from this and move on." Instead of retreating when I need a shoulder to cry on, He says, "Here, take mine." When I am scared He craddles me in His arms and whispers, "You are gonna be okay, because I am with you. I will protect you. I am fighting in your corner." I have a God that love me for me and wants me to spend eternity with Him. I need to find sufficiency in that.
Rejections are like speed bumps on the road. They come with the
journey.
You cannot keep people from rejecting you. But you can keep
rejections from enraging you. How? By letting his acceptance
compensate for their rejection.
Think of it this way. Suppose you dwell in a high-rise apartment. On
the window sill of your room is a solitary daisy. This morning you
picked the daisy and pinned it on your lapel. Since you have only one
plant, this is a big event and a special daisy.
But as soon as you’re out the door, people start picking petals off
your daisy. Someone snags your subway seat. Petal picked. You’re
blamed for the bad report of a coworker. Three petals. The promotion
is given to someone less experience but with USC water polo looks.
More petals. By the end of the day, you’re down to one. Woe be to the
soul who dares to draw near it. You’re only one petal-snatching away
from a blowup.
What if the scenario was altered slightly? Let’s add one character.
The kind man in the apartment next door runs a flower shop on the
corner. Every night on the way home he stops at your place with a
fresh, undeserved, yet irresistible bouquet.
These are not leftover flowers. They are top-of-the-line
arrangements. You don’t know why he thinks so highly of you, but you
aren’t complaining. Because of him, your apartment has a sweet
fragrance, and your step has a happy bounce. Let someone mess with
your flower, and you’ve got a basketful to replace it!
The difference is huge. And the interpretation is obvious.
God will load your world with flowers. He hand-delivers a bouquet to
your door every day. Open it! Take them! Then, when rejections come,
you won’t be left short-petaled.
God can help you get rid of your anger.
Take the flowers. Receive from him so you can love or at least put up
with others.
Why do I continue to look at the love from others as the supreme example? I don't know. It boggles the mind how people, who know so little about me, can decide that they don't like me. Yet, there is a God who knows everything about me, every disgusting little detail, and loves me anyway. Instead of brushing me off because of a mistake He pulls me closer and says, "Its okay. Let's learn from this and move on." Instead of retreating when I need a shoulder to cry on, He says, "Here, take mine." When I am scared He craddles me in His arms and whispers, "You are gonna be okay, because I am with you. I will protect you. I am fighting in your corner." I have a God that love me for me and wants me to spend eternity with Him. I need to find sufficiency in that.