We all experience some type of rejection in our
lifetime. Whether it's a no response to
the note you passed in third grade (check yes or no), or that dreaded letter
you receive from you university of choice, there is no easy part to
rejection. No matter how many times it happens,
there's always that point where the world just seems to crumble around
you.
Some people experience more rejection than others. Those of us in that category have the process
down pat. We wince in pain when we hear
things like "when one door closes, another one opens", we develop
plans of distraction so we don't have to think about it so much, and usually we
either just tell everyone at once that the rejection happened or we hide it
from the world by becoming pros at changing the subject whenever someone asks
about it.
I've become a pro at rejection. I'm pretty confident that in my lifetime I
have received a ton more "no's" then "yes'", but then I'm
sure we all feel that way. I get
rejected a lot, but recently I received a rejection that really hit me hard.
I'm a pessimist, and so like a any good pessimist, I always prepare for that
"no", but when it comes to certain things in life, you can prepare
all you want, but as soon as you see it in print, the pain still comes.
The surprising thing is that I think I have learned more
from this rejection than any other in my life.
Here's a few things I've learned from rejection.
- There is a plan, and you might have no idea what that plan is, and it will probably take 10 years until you can look back and have that "eureka" moment where it all makes sense, but there is a plan. Jeremiah 29:11 is overused, but it's still true, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'" He's got a plan, you just have to have faith.
- It's important to have friends around you that don't give you sympathy. Sympathy won't get you anywhere, but truthful love will. Personally I respond best to tough love and I am blessed to have people around me that are very good at it. They gave a word of encouragement and then a second later they asked what plan B was and the timeline for it. There's a time for mourning and sympathy, but it shouldn't be a long time. The longer you stay there, the more comfortable you become. You need to have friends that look you in the eye and tell you to get moving. If you don't have people around you that do that, you need better friends.
- The next steps will show you your character. Do you give up or do you learn from the rejection and move forward? You might not see the next step in front of you, but you still have to take it. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."
Rejection is something we all experience. It's usually considered a bad thing, but honestly it can be the best thing that ever
happened to you. There have been plans
that I set up that have been completely shut down on me, and today I can truthfully
look back and praise God that they were.
My plan A's have been crushed,
but there is always plan B, and then if that doesn't work, there's always C, D,
E, F... Don't let rejection crush you,
because most times, it's simply that obstacle that you can overcome, and once
you do, you are better for it.
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