So we know we are on a journey, right? Each of God's sons and daughters is on a redemption journey, a journey to freedom, from sin and guilt and all.the.things that have kept us from walking in the freedom God paid for on our behalf with his blood. So, enter this book launch thing and three chapters of a book dealing with the next thing on the what seems like a very long list of issues in my heart, REJECTION.
I've responded to other e-mails to be included on book launch teams, and every other time I was NOT chosen, NOT included, NOT needed, in a nutshell, Rejected. Of course, I would brush it aside and not think too much about it but there was still a little sting and a whisper to my heart of "see, rejected again" and possibly a myriad of other voices from my past affirming a lie promulgated by a very sly enemy.
I can always point to the times I've experienced a true rejection . Trying out for a solo in college choir and having a young inexperienced choir director embarrass me in front of the entire group by pointing out the southern twang of my voice as something to be disdained not applauded or celebrated as "lovely" is definitely REJECTION.
But there are other times when rejection is something that is perceived. Such as a conversation with a friend wherein I say, "hey next time you see your neighbor, give her my number, I'd like to connect with her" and her reply is something other than, "Oh, I sure will, you would be great friends" and more along the lines of "She was just over the other day and she and my other friend seemed to really hit it off". In these situations, because of past instances of real rejection, I can have a tendency to perceive that comment as rejection when, in fact, my friend has no desire to reject ME, she's just speaking facts about what happened that week. It's in those small moments of relating that my heart can be pummeled and hurt. What someone else might view as an insignificant comment can poke an unhealed wound in my heart and at the very same time usher in my life long companion shame at the very thought that I am overly sensitive and interpreted that comment as a personal affront.
As I look into my heart and identify my wounds with the help of the Spirit of Truth, God brings just the right medicine to clean out those wounds, stitch them up and bandage them over until the scars are formed. Uninvited by Lysa Terkeurst, has been just what the doctor ordered, literally!! The healer of hearts brought the first three chapters of Uninvited to my e-mail in-box and is using Lysa's words to help scrape clean a wound of rejection that has been untouched and allowed to fester far too long.
This journey is a life long process, religious folk call it sanctification, I call it a road to living in freedom!! God is with me and God is for me. As my very real wounds are healed, the enemy can aim his fiery darts at the wounds I've received as a result of living in a fallen world and they will hit a healed scar. Instead of a festering wound pouring forth poison into my heart and mind, the overflow of my heart can then pour forth welcome, gentleness, kindness, grace and love into my own heart as well as the lives of those around me. I can live loved!! or I can live out of unhealed wounds, turning away from the pain and ignoring the reality of the bondage they create, allowing the enemy to have ground that was bought and paid for on my behalf.
If you've ever felt uninvited, left out or rejected, and have never considered why those experiences continue producing "hurt feelings" in your heart as a child of God, pre-order a copy of Lysa's book. Take a step toward living in freedom, living loved by your creator, the way God intended his daughters and sons to live from the beginning!
For Freedom Christ has set us free.
Galatians 5:1a
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