ACCEPTANCE

As a mother accepts her baby regardless of how red or wrinkled, how long or short, how beautiful or not, so God accepts us in spite of all our imperfections. He is the one who makes the imperfect perfect, through His Son, Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES by Sally Bair

You Are Chosen

As a youngster, I had trouble keeping up in Phys. Ed. I couldn’t climb a rope, touch my toes, or do a passing broad jump. In softball, my pitching and batting were pathetic and as an outfielder, every time the ball came towards me I ducked. When the team leaders chose me last, I felt unimportant and unwanted.

Sadly, this is true with many others. Listening to some kids today makes us realize the deep, unfulfilled longings in their lives. Their parents perhaps expect too much from them. They feel the sting of unpopularity. They’re called embarrassing names. So they grow up discouraged, which can lead to depression, anxiety, fear, rebellion, anger, substance abuse, and a host of other symptoms. Marriages in particular can suffer because of childhood trauma experienced by one or both spouses.

We all need to feel accepted. When we don’t, it’s easy to enter the pity-party mode. I’ve been there, and learned that if I continue in such a mind-set, nothing will change. So I make a conscious choice to get over it. How do I do this? Sometimes I start praising God for the good things in my life, whether I feel they’re good or not. Other times I yank my thoughts away from someone’s supposedly-uncaring words and think about their strengths.

Still other times I pray. Like king David prayed in some of the Psalms, I let God have it with both guns—my complaints and my miseries of the moment. And, like David, I end our one-sided conversation with words of thanksgiving.

Without fail, my attitude changes immediately. I remember how much God loves me and His mercies are new every morning. I remember that He has accepted me and chosen me to be His child. I remember, like David said in Psalm 27:10, that “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.”

Prayer, praise, Bible reading, journal writing—these are all good ways to “get over it.” Paul writes that, through Christ who loves us, we are more than conquerors. His prayer is that we “may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge ….” (Ephesians 3:18-19)

Lord, let the love of Christ dwell so richly in us that we will not be adversely affected by feelings of unacceptance. In Jesus’ name, amen.