A lil post about acceptance
A lil post about acceptance
My Husband got me a special gift for Christmas.
What a funny way to start a blog post. But, it’s true: my husband got me a leather journal cover. A beautiful, handmade, one-of-a-kind genuine leather journal cover. Inside there is a little loop to put a pen, some credit card sized slots for notes and things, and a bigger pouch in the back (also for notes and things.) It came stuffed with a thin blank paged journal and I’ve decided I’m going to fill it up.
Oh, what to put in a thing such as this? I usually panic at the onset of such an endeavor, but this time I knew right what I was going to put in there. I’ve been reading the Bible lately and I’ve tried to come up with clever (or not-so-clever) ways to put the pen to paper and address the issues I have in my own life using bible passages the way I used to seek out the words of gurus and poets. I still do seek out the words of poets and philosophers, but I’m seeking out the word more often. The Bible can be incredibly poetic and downright astounding if you take a moment to soak it up.
We are working on:
Acceptance.
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.”
Matthew 16:24
Those were the direct words of Jesus. Or, at least they’re a translation of a translation of the direct words of Jesus. Still, I have been struggling with acceptance in my life. Don’t we all?
We all want to whine and cry sometimes “Life just isn’t fair!” or “Why me?” Jesus has a really good way of addressing these little whines with soothing tones in some verses, and harsh reality in others. “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me” seems more tough-lovey. Jesus could be quite a blunt guy, but I guess the world needs tough love sometimes.
In this world, especially in new-age circles, there’s a kind of self-indulgent vibe. “Self care” and “Do what feels good” are really prominent overlays to solving problems. While there are places for this kind of attitude, it goes against reality a lot of times. I’ve personally been trapped in this kind of thinking a lot. “Do what feels good” doesn’t address the things that need to be done in order to live well.This is where acceptance and this verse come in.
To “deny yourself” in this passage is to literally give up your human tendency to complain and to whine and to carry on like a 2 year old because you didn’t get your way. 2 year olds can carry on for a loooooong time, too. I’ve seen it. Today. To “take up his cross” is to accept the life you have been given, to shoulder your own circumstances and “follow me” means doing our best to follow Jesus and obey what the Holy Spirit whispers to us.
The thing about this is that this is different in every circumstance! This can be a little maddening to someone like me, who loves routine. Sometimes following Jesus means submitting to your circumstances. Sometimes it means changing them for the better in order to follow Jesus better and therefore becoming a better person. Following Jesus means doing what he tells you. Even if its just getting out your journal and your laptop and writing a post about a thing you wrote down.
No goal, no amount of positive change is too small to be important to God. Every step you take towards him is good. Accepting your circumstances is the first step to taking up your cross. Accepting our bad behavior, our sins, is the first step to forgiveness. Forgiveness is the first step to salvation.
That’s all the time we have for today. You are God’s lovely creature and he loves you very much.
JJC
Originally published at http://vibincrybaby.wordpress.com on January 19, 2024.
