Acceptance

Acceptance is my word for this current season of life. Since coming back from CA, God has been bringing me from glory to glory by giving me words to focus on and accomplish. It all started with the word content. Being okay with where God has me right now, even if it does not align with my dreams and plans. Learning to find satisfaction in Jesus within my present circumstances. However, soon after this began harvesting, God gave me a new word. Sing. It is not enough to be content but I must find joy within this current season. I MUST realize that God is worthy of praise no matter the circumstance. There is a difference between becoming okay with life and then enjoying it. Within this current season of healing and freedom, God has given me the word acceptance. You see, one can be content, be able to recognize He is worthy of praise, learn to enjoy life, but continue to live in an unrealistic world. This is where my new motto was born. Accept what you cannot change. Focus on what you can.

Yes, all three words are very similar and definitely relate. Some may even argue that they are one in the same. But God knows I need things broken down, so He graciously does just that. In this current season I am becoming aware that accomplishing one thing (word) only breaks another layer of my wall down. Or as I like to refer to it, my avoidant box. If God started with the word acceptance, I would have been like “Well duh I accept where I am, I don’t really have a choice. It is what it is.” Because He began with contentment, I was able to face the parts of my life that I was not satisfied in. Then, I was able to learn how to rejoice despite them. Now, I can accept what, at first, I did not know was there.

What exactly am I accepting? Well a many of things. Family situations, other people’s choices that currently affect and bring pain, my brokenness, my lack of control (or rather none), I’m not who I once was, loss of friendships, WV is where God wants me, expectations are rarely met, and I could go on and on. All of the things listed bring sadness, anxiety, an overwhelming since of helplessness; yet, nothing can be done or changed unless it is in God’s perfect, good plan. Therefore, what is the sense of allowing them to weigh me down and rob me of freedom? Hence, focusing on the things I can control. Listening to Jesus, my prayer life, my attitude, my joy, deciding if the Gospel is enough, believing God is good no matter the circumstance, bringing back trust within my relationship with Jesus and maybe like two other things are all I can control. And the best part, they all take me right back to where my focus should be…JESUS. Remember, we are not the point.

As always, I greatly encourage you to do something with what you’ve read. Sharing and being vulnerable with others, with you all, is terribly stinky for me (I don’t enjoy it, but I am learning to). What does applying this look like? The easiest way is if you are in the same season as me, which is highly doubtful, list out what you can and cannot control and allow God to bring forth freedom from control and move into acceptance. For the rest of you, applying this means digging deep and seeking from the Lord a word to focus on. Sometimes He will give a word or sometimes He will implement an action. Another great thing to do is begin to document where you were to where you are now. Whether that look like a journal, blog, audio recordings…begin to see how much God has done and praise Him for it. The last application I have for you is to explore what glory you are currently in. Knowing your current season will help you grow and move to the next. Who wants to wonder around the desert for forty years or go around the same mountain over and over again. Hint, NO ONE! So apply away!