NEW YEAR – NEW ATTITUDE
The word “acceptance” has become a “catch all” phrase in today’s world to describe almost anything and everything that might push an agenda. The world decries anyone who does not accept the “anything goes” attitude of our society today. As long as ‘it makes ME feel better; I deem it to be valid.’ In order to avoid buying into this definition of acceptance, one has only to read through the many passages in the Scriptures that define very specifically what kind of behavior a disciple of Christ is NOT to accept.
The definition of acceptance addressed here is that which becomes the bridge to a more deepened faith and to that deepened faith’s gift of peace. There are many examples of acceptance that were given to us by Jesus, and many more that we develop during our time here. There is the acceptance of parents for their children, recognizing the unique gifts given to them by God, along with the awareness that God has a plan for their lives, which may or may not be the same as our plans for them. Children should learn to accept their parents as the people with whom God placed them in order to guide and shape their lives. Accepting an unexpected diagnosis, or gratefully accepting God’s incredible mercy and forgiveness as well as His constant presence in our lives – these are ways that may move us out of our comfort zones, but are necessary to bridge that gap to faith.
The aging process is most always difficult to accept. During a recent broadcast of a public television series, there was a very moving and thought provoking exchange between an elderly husband and wife living in a rather poor Hamlet of the English countryside. The husband is having a very difficult time with the challenges of age and asks his wife, “How did we get so old?” His wife, a wise woman who has learned her lessons from a long life tells him “Your trouble is you fight it – it don’t work that way. We aren’t the masters of this earth, we are its servants. We were put her to live our time and be grateful. Who cares how many days are behind, or how many are in front, can’t we just accept that?” That answer can be applied to so many circumstances we face during our lifetime. If we first accept that God loves us unconditionally, no matter what we face, we will find it acceptable.
Submitted by Marguerite Mullins