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Topic: Acceptance (01/12/04)
TITLE: Thinking Back In Time By Wanda M. R. Garrett 01/13/04 |
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I remember going out to school dances.
I remember walks in the park with a high school sweetheart
I remember walking the streets always alone.
My thoughts only took me back in time when I was trying to piece my thought life together to make some sense of it all. It was like I lived in a cave surrounded by darkness, the night had become a welcome friend. Why was I alone, why did I have no friends? What was I was really looking for in my life. What made me find contentment in this lonely situation?
One thing that stuck out in my mind was the fact that I wasn’t like anybody else. As I got older I realized something about myself. I lived for me, not for anyone else. I didn’t follow the in crowd, I had my own thoughts, followed my own mind. My life was not lived to please anybody. What I actually found out about myself was this; I had set myself apart from the others because I didn’t want to be like them. I didn’t want to be someone who always wanted to please somebody else to get along.
My life was unique, quiet and reserved, and I liked it that way. I found out that I didn’t need the acceptance or the approval of others to validate my being.
When Jesus saved me in my adult life, the things I went through in my younger years carried over.
I found in the word of God that He was the one I had to seek to please and get approval from. The Bible taught me that I was bought with a price, and I was not my own. In Psalms 19:14, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
The more of the word of God that I put into my heart the more I spoke out of my mouth. When I meditate upon the goodness of God, it strengthened me, it gives me joy, and I find peace. My mind became renew and I did not let the world transform me.
God is the only one in my life that I need acceptance from. He is the only one that I truly have a desire to please. In the quietness of my room, in my solitude, I am comfortable. I can be myself made better by Jesus and it doesn’t matter what people say about me. I’m not a people pleaser and never have been; I learned that lesson early in life, and that has made me a better Christian. My acceptance comes from my Lord and in Him I am complete and content with his approval alone.