Acceptance
The dictionary defines acceptance as
the action of being received as adequate or suitable, typically to be admitted to a group.
But acceptance can also mean the act of taking something which is offered as in a job or accepting an apology.
God has made us with a desire to be accepted. There are times we wait for others to invite us to join a group, hang out with them or simply recognize we want to be their friend. Children wait to be picked for the team, asked to join a study group or find out if they are accepted to the college of their choosing. But the longing for acceptance does not leave when we reach the magic age which declares us to be an adult.
I have the privilege of being part of a group of women. This group has accepted me, as I am and encourages the gifts they see in me, even when I can not see them myself. We laugh together, sometimes over the simplest little things or antics of our grandchildren. At other times we share each others sorrows and grief. We’ve taken meals to one of our group who has just had surgery or simply hung out together. At times we pull in others to our group for a season or organize an event such as a salad supper to invite ladies from our church, friends, family and others who we might have just met.
I often have a busy schedule and sometimes feel I am at the edge of the group, that I have missed many times of getting together when the puzzle pieces of my life scatter before me. Yet these lovely ladies continue to pull me in, love me and accept me.
In God’s Word Jesus tells us we are loved by God. It also reminds us multiple times in the New Testament to encourage one another, be kind to one another, forgive one another and bear each other’s burdens. In other words – accept each other even as Christ accepts us when we come to Him.
Who are your circle of friends? Are you still looking and longing for acceptance? There is one place we can go and that is to God.
Posted: October 3rd, 2017 under puzzle pieces of life, Storytelling.