My journey with rejection began at a young age. It began with an earthly father who didn’t want to be my dad, and it continued into adolescence where I trudged through school as the weirdo, outcast, the square peg who never fit in just right. The mantle of rejection followed me into college with a string of fruitless, broken romances, and it stuck around throughout my twenties because I never seemed good enough. It cumulated with a big fat divorce, complete with my feelings like I bore the Scarlet Letter D on my chest for all to see.
The path of rejection, no matter where it starts, takes on a treacherous trek for any person who unknowingly begins to walk in it day by day. It takes on different outward appearances as you go. For some it carries a cloak of depression, for others low self esteem. It manifests in titles like anorexia, obesity, or promiscuity. It delights in negative habits like alcoholism, addiction, and the inability to trust in scary words like love. Regardless of the root cause, this lie digs its claws in deep, and escape sometimes never occurs. You exist within the jaws of rejection, a tasty morsel for the Prince of Lies.
You may never hear over the roar of hurt, betrayal, and pain the voice of truth that whispers constantly, but if you did, this is what it would say.
You are mine. My beloved. You can never run too far for my hand to rescue.
You’re name is beloved. It’s not unloved. Your name is daughter; it’s not loser, trash, or even whore. You aren’t ugly, fat, or even plain. But you are my lovely child.
You come from a royal priesthood, and as a child of the One True King, you are royalty as well. You are a princess.
You’re not your past. You’re not your present. You’re not even your future fear. You’re what I have destined you to be, and no mistakes you make can take you from my graces.
You’re not what others see, what others say, or even what they think. You’re not the deserted daughter, abandoned lover, or even the discarded wife. You’re precious. You’re precious in my sight.
You’re not your failures, you’re not your triumphs. Your character isn’t based on what you can or cannot do. It’s measured by my perfect love that dwells within you, so you can relax about putting on the perfect front. I see your heart, and made in my image, when I look at you I see perfection. No front required.
Your worth will never be based on who has left you, lied to you, hurt you, or even betrayed you. It’s based on the one who died for you. And who would have done it just for you.
I formed you, perfect in every detail, and no one on this earth can take you from my loving arms. No distance is too great to close, no hurt too harsh to heal, no lie too massive to be made into truth, no mistake too large that it cannot be mended.
Begin to see yourself as a child of the King. Walk in your lofty title, bask in its beauty, and go forward triumphantly in your royal robes of righteousness. You are my beloved, and because of that perfect love I have for you, rejection has no place.
1 Peter 2:9 ESV
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Song of Solomon 6:3
I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine
Dave Parsons says
There are so many great women speakers of the gospel that my wife and I love to listen to! Your words are life and inspiration for so many Brie! I can’t say what God has for you but your story, your testimony and your faith in our Lord is sure to inspire so many! I pray that God uses you to go forth in a world that needs the hope that only Jesus can give! God bless you lady!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you so much. I’m so awed by how God can use my writing.
Dave Parsons says
For sure!
Mary Ann Durbrow says
Hi Brie
You don’t know me. I feel like I know you.
You seem like quite a gal! You probably touch more hearts than you know with your blog.
I too was among the discarded, and kicked to the curb. I was made to feel like all my Christmase’s alone were my fault.
The Lord is always there now. In the midst of all the rejection and the oxygen tubing coming out of my face I feel His presence. I see His Holy Spirit in the beautiful, gentle glow of December sunlght, in the chick-a-dee-dee-dee of of my round little balls of chickadees, and in the loving eyes of my service dog Ruth. I am blessed to be able to see these things. Many never do.
I am so blessed to have a computer to write to you on. If the Windsor tornado had never destroyed everything I owned I never would have gotten the Federal Emergency Management Agency money to buy this computer. If I had never gotten a traumatic brain injury from a cellphone yakker I never would have had the money to buy my awesome Bernina sewing machine to make quits that make people happy! If I never had been rejected, as a child, by the people who were supposed to take care of me I never would have known enough to take hold of the Lord and not let go.
Never ever, ever let go. You write an awesome blog. We serve an awesome God!
Blessings
Mary Ann & Ruthie
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and share your heart with me. It blesses me. God bless you.
Lisa Pierce says
You are such an inspiration. Your words of truth touched my heart so deeply. I am a woman of God but because of rejections, it took me many years to get here.
Thank you for taking the time from your busy schedule to do this blog. I check my email just to find you and I share many of your posts to facebook.
God bless you and yours, now and always!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you so very much!