feeling rejection hurts

I’ve been in a season lately where I’ve felt waves of rejection.

I have felt the sting of not being enough. I have felt weighed down by the “shoulds,” even if the “shoulds” aren’t really “shoulds” and it’s all in my head.

I feel hurt. I feel misunderstood. I feel sad and I feel angry.

I want to make it right, I want a restored relationship. I want what I thought I had from the very beginning, but apparently this was all a façade.

These feelings of rejection, they hurt. They sting. They make you think you’re the one in the wrong, even when you’re not.

Rejection hurts.

rejection is a part of living life

But rejection itself doesn’t mean you’re bad. It just means you’re human living your life in a way that is bold enough to not be conformed to what everyone else wants.

Facing rejection really means that you’re brave enough to put yourself out there in a way that risks rejection in the first place. People who don’t face rejection risk something much bigger. They risk living in a way that pleases everyone else so much so that they don’t even know who they really are.

I’ve been that person before too…

I’ve tried so hard to be perfect and to please. I’ve tried so hard to shield myself from these feelings of rejection. And here, as I’m feeling them hard, I’m reminded that they’re tolerable. They are uncomfortable, yes. But not unbearable.

what rejection teaches us

These feelings of rejection actually teach us more about who we are, our story, and the longings we have. They also teach us more about whoever is rejecting us and the stories that may have shaped them.

Rejection may also come in general societal waves because you’re different. You’re not living like the mainstream or conforming to an “ideal.”

Here’s the thing: Rejection isn’t always about us. It might be more about the other person(s).

Furthermore, we are free to face rejection because the most Perfect One of all faced it too. Rejection itself led him to the cross which was the very thing that made him win in the end.

We win through loss. We win because we are not bound to the opinions or perspectives of others.

We are free. And we’re even freer when we can begin to forgive the ones who hurt us. This is the picture of the Gospel. This is true freedom.