Acceptance is the answer to my problems.
I can not find serenity until I accept that persons, places, things or situations that are unacceptable to me are as they should be at this moment.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake. Until I accept my weaknesses, I can not overcome them. Until I accept life completely, on life’s own terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed int eh world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes.
The more I focus on defects, the more they grow and multiply.
The courage to change is the courage I need from God to change myself, to learn to accept and to focus on what is good to watch it grow and multiply.
Active acceptance is th key to my relationship with God today. I never just sit and do nothing while waiting for Him to tell me what to do. Rather, I do whatever is in front of me to be done, and I leave the results up to God. However it turns out, it is His will for me.
I found it striking, as I did his discussion and what I learned from it.
Acceptance goes hand in hand with forgiving yourself of the pain that you have sufferred. We forgive others in order to be forgiven, by ourselves as well as by God, in order to accept His love for us and the hope that is in Him.
Especially in this season, may you find acceptance.
6 comments:
Wow. I so needed that. I actually took it in a mental health way, of accepting myself, and all the negative behaviors that come along with the mental illness no matter how hard I try.
But if I accept it, paradoxically I will then be able to come from a place of strength, instead of a place of fighting against myself. I'll then be WORKING with myself.
I managed it just once before in my life. To accept myself, major flaws and all. To accept that there were things about me, and behaviors that aren't socially acceptable, but I accepted that's how I was, at the time, and I was SO FREED from the struggle, for a season. And, paradoxically, was so much more able to accept me. Accepting how I am, in my very flawed state, is not me saying I am going to behave that way forever; I'm a work in progress! But I have to accept that this is how I am AT THIS MOMENT. Which is hard, cause I was raised that being so, well, incapable was not a good thing. Relying on others, especially Scott, for pretty much everything, is not a good thing. But if I can ACCEPT that is who I am, warts and all, TODAY, it, PARADOXICALLY, makes it MUCH more likely for me to be able to make eventual progress towards becoming who I want to be, down the road.
Anyhoo. So your message came at the right moment, for me. I guess I need to forgive myself for being ill, and for not conquering the illness and/or all it's accompanying challenges, behaviors, moods, and disabilities, every time it comes up. You know, typing that HELPED me. How COULD I be expected to be capable of conquering it every single second it comes up? The many, many times I fail . . .well, I am human, and I am ill, and I am only just starting the road of professional help. So THERE you stupid illness. I'm going to learn to accept myself, despite you, and INCLUDING you.
Thanks, Stephen. Workin on it in Utah, Sare
A great post is Healing During the Holidays.
That's amazing abd so true. I've been struggling with acceptance for some time. Thank you.
Thank you both for the comments.
"Acceptance is the answer to my problems."
That's step 8 of this 12-step program:
http://meaningoflifeproject.com/www/docs/2
At first glance it's a good life-coach program.
Thanks Bookslinger. I think 12-step programs are neat.
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