I am Accepted!

[God] chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. -Ephesians 1:4 (NRSV)

ALL my life I have yearned and worked for acceptance. Getting good grades, working overtime, striving to please anyone, even accepting unkind treatment from others -- I did anything to win approval. When Dad died two weeks before my 17th birthday, my desire for approval seem to just increase. I felt I wasn't as worthy of love, even though everyone I loved seemed to offer it freely.

As I matured approval did not seem to meet the need of acceptance. In loosing Nicholas, I have become even more aware that approval is not the goal. We did everything we could to save him. We prayed, surrendered our hearts, and used every known medical treatment yet still his little heart was not able to maintain life. In this loss, I am finding that I am not alone in the desire for acceptance. I understand that even the most confident among us struggle with acceptance. We all need approval for who we are inside. This is why some actors and other public personalities live or die by the whims of a fickle public. Yet, the Lord accepts us as we are and than loves us beyond acceptance.

But even if we win applause and trophies, the emptiness we experience can be filled only by God. Why? Only faith in God brings true security. Because God accepts us, we can become whole persons. But this is the work of Christ and not because of anything we have done; we can't be good enough or achieve enough to earn God's acceptance. Out of love and boundless grace -- and regardless of our past, our failures, our sins,, and our losses -- God accepts us.

Thank you for reading and for accepting these thoughts...please know I accept you and you know I love ya, Don