One of the best rejections I’ve ever received is, “You’re piece made it to the penultimate round. Unfortunately, we will not be publishing it.”
Sadly, not all rejections offer a touch of encouragement, but I believe we can learn from them anyway. For instance, rejections teach us the humility to lean into our critique groupers’ suggestions, rewriting a rejected piece provides a lesson in perseverance, and praying for our writing helps us to rely on God’s plan.
For each lesson learned, we can lean into God’s plan with an attitude that marks us as writers who follow God. Yes, when someone declines our precious words, we feel the sting. Nevertheless, every turned-down piece helps us to grow both as writers and as God’s people.
Romans 12:10 (ESV)—Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Travel. It can bring out the happy, carefree us; it can bring out the hands-on-hips, ready-for-a-showdown us.
And how do I know that?
Just yesterday, my hubby and I hopped into the car for a two-hour drive to watch the eclipse. About halfway there, we stopped at a gas station for snacks at my request, much to the chagrin of my hubby, who very much wanted to get to our destination. Still, he filled the tank while I went inside for a leisurely browse of the snacks. A bit too leisurely if I correctly read my hubby’s facial expression when he came inside to collect me. Even so, I argued a bit and continued my browsing, albeit with my gaze moving faster over the selection of goodies.
Immediately, in the car, God prodded me: Apologize. He said I should have swallowed my wants (not quite as tasty as my snacks), paid for the drinks in my hand, and left the store without looking further. He finished with, “Honor one another above yourselves.”
Yep, one of those memory verses I’d tucked away, a verse about love that applies to every relationship, not just spousal ones. This characteristic of Christ allows us to be humble, to sacrifice our selfishness for the wants of another. Humility helps us to push aside our worldly feelings and love with zeal, joy, and faith. And we can sacrifice these human faults to live as Christ did because we have the peace of knowing Christ overcame the world (John 16:33).
On this day, I sinned. But I chose to turn from the darkness and walk in the light (1 John 1:7), to apologize for my behavior of not honoring another above myself. My hubby forgave me—and for good measure, we sealed the deal with a kiss.
