John 15:13 NIV
Greater Love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Anxiety is one of the fastest growing mental health conditions of this country. Since September 11th, 2001 more people have been diagnosed with anxiety and depression than at any other time in history,
Grief is an area where it is very easy to blame God for your terrible lot in life. You lost a child and you blame God for taking them away from you. You lost a sibling and you blame God for taking someone you loved and depriving you of a life long connection. You get stuck in your grief and you cannot understand why your friends aren't there for you. Rejection can magnify the emotional impact of your earlier loss.
Grief will cause us to go inward and medicate your pain. Whether it is through the use of video gaming, or drugs, alcohol, or illicit relationships the motives are the same which is to bury those emotions way down deep so there is not possible way they will surface to haunt you with those nasty images. The problem, as I see it, is the pain will not stay buried. because every life experience that leads to rejection,will unearth the original pain your feel.
Life is hard. Losses will happen. Rejection will occur, but the questions you ask when it does occur will determine the attitude you have in handling that situation. Let me give you an example. Your self esteem had been crushed through a simple rejection of a friend in school and you begin asking questions why am I so undesirable that no one wants to be my friend? Because of that question you pull away from your group and avoid all occasions where you might have an opportunity to get to know people. Instead you may want to ask the question 'what can I do to grow from this rejection?' Instead of going inward and avoiding friends you use the pain of rejection to look for occasions to build others up around you and build stronger friendships. I remember my grand mother telling my mom when she was a little girl that 'to have friends you must be a friend'. She was a teacher in a one room school house and she knew and studied children and understood the social dynamics of growing up.
Our attitude does make a difference in how we perceive the world around us. Having the right attitude can make a difference between having healthy relationships and living a lonely life. God gave us a role model through his son, Jesus, who demonstrated for us how important it is to love those around us. Despite the rejection he felt he continue the course of healing the sick and befriending the friendless because he wanted to make a difference in their lives.
Take time today to thank God for the positive attributes in your life and ask him to help you make a difference in your friends lives.
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