As the saying goes, ‘The first step to healing is admitting you have a problem.’ When it comes to addiction, accepting and admitting that you have a problem is the first step to healing. Along the same lines, when it comes to grieving, to fully walk through the grieving process, you have to come to a place of acceptance, which is normally the last step before you are able to move on. You have to come to a place of accepting that your life will now be different. No matter in what aspect of your life it comes, acceptance is one of the most vital things we need to live life fully.
For some reason, we have decided that the way we see things must be the right and only way. We
see this in our marriages, in our churches, in our politics, and generally in life. When people
don’t agree with our view, we often retort with a passive aggressive ‘Agree to Disagree’ while
secretly believing that we can retain an ‘I’m right so I don’t actually care what you think’
attitude. And yet, here’s the rub with this line of thinking: We are all very different and we see the
world through very different eyes. How we grew up, with our unique racial, religious and cultural
backgrounds, all affect how we view the world, meaning that there are very few things that we
can say with 100% certainty are actually one way only. The Internet has given us a platform to
express our views and opinions to the world as fact when in reality, we aren’t always sure what the truth is. As the latest cover story of Time recently admitted, “We Are Losing The Internet To Hate.” We live in an era of information overload and there are very few things we can be sure of.
One thing I am certain of is that accepting other human beings for who they are is the only way
you are able to be in healthy, intimate relationship with them. This acceptance is a prerequisite
to loving them well even when you do not agree with their perspective. And is this not what God
asks of us? To love others as our neighbors, to love the poor and rich alike? To love those who
look and believe like us as much as the ones who look and believe completely different? This is
what everyday peacemaking is all about: Accepting people who are in the muck and mire of life
as much as those who are the same as you.
I’ve come to see that even in some of my closest relationships, that as soon as I start accepting
people for who they are and not who I want or expect them to be, that I am able to love them
with appreciation and acceptance, celebrating them for who God made them to be. My wish for
you is a similar journey of acceptance that leads to a fresh appreciation, and joyous celebration,
of those in your life.