DON'T REJECT YOURSELF

"I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more of a fool not afraid of rejection." - Billy Joel

To reject means “to throw away,” “discard.” It's the act of “being denied love.” The feeling of being discarded leads us to believe that we are unloved. When we feel unloved, we deem ourselves worthless. As much as we feel rejected, unloved or worthless that is how much we are unable to receive love, whether from God or people. Often, we hear when people tell us they love us, but we don’t truly recognize that love for the gift it is. Instead, we wait for the proverbial “other shoe” to drop, and anxiously anticipate when that love will be withdrawn.

There was a man whose life was characterized by failure. At the age of 22, his business failed. At 23, he ran for Legislature but was defeated. So he turned to another business, which failed when he was 24. At 25, things started to turn around when he was elected to Legislature, but at 26 his love died. He had a nervous breakdown at 27 and was defeated in his run for Speaker at 29. He was defeated at 31 when he ran for Elector, he lost in his run for Congress at 34, but then managed to win at 37.