Accepting the Truth of Your Life

Acceptance is an interesting word. It involves both the act of accepting as well as the fact of being accepted.  In this way, it’s kind of a two-way street.  One of the corollary definitions of accepting is “to be able or designed to take hold, as in something added or applied, like a surface that will not accept ink.”  This is another two-way street.  On the one hand is the surface and on the other hand is the ink.  Acceptance happens when the first is primed to consent to the second. 

I remember watching a master artisan create an ink drawing on fine linen paper.  There was something spare yet elegant in the careful brushstrokes from which a blooming branch took shape.  It was as if the paper itself was hungry to accept and drink in the ink that forever altered its surface.  The artisan knew how much ink to put on the brush and how long to rest the brush on the paper, mindful of how much ink would be absorbed.  The gentle precision was impressive and the drawing that resulted simply beautiful. 

I think God is like that master artisan.  The surface is your sense of self, and the ink is the truth of your life.  Only when you learn to accept and drink in the truth will you become who God wants you to be.  In order to accept yourself, to display the vital characteristic of self-acceptance, you must be able to take and hold the truth when it is applied to your life.  As the definition says, I believe God has designed you to be able to do just that. 

Many women, however, are not able to accept the truth.  They are resistant to the truth and refuse to take it in.  Truth, however, is persistent.  it doesn’t go away just because you want it to.  Truth affects your life, whether you acknowledge it or not.  Because you go to such lengths to shield yourself from the truth, its very persistent and can be a source of frustration or anger.  You just want the truth to give way to your preferred desire.  When it doesn’t it can make you mad. 

When you fight against the truth, you create a battle that doesn’t need to take place.  You use time, energy and emotions that could be better used to accept and integrate it into your life.  Because the truth is often painful, you believe you are shielding yourself from pain by denying, hiding, or reconstructing it.  But the pain creating by denying it outweighs the pain of accepting the truth.  It is no unlike the way Scripture says discipline works: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Heb. 12:11).  Accepting the truth, though painful, can produce a harvest of strength and resilience. 

You need to ask yourself, Am I willing to accept the truth?  This journey of discovery I’ve been privileged to help many women navigate.  Often, they begin by admitting, no, they are not willing to accept the truth of their life, of themselves, of their past, of their families.  Because they cannot accept the truth, they remain stuck in their pain and anger.  Instead of accepting the truth, allowing it to later them and move on, they prefer to remain where they are.  They are under the illusion that it is better to maintain a clear, untouched canvas instead of risking what pattern will emerge in their lives when truth is absorbed.  To them, the ink of truth does not produce a beautiful picture, it soils an illusion they’ve tried very hard to maintain.  The surface of their denial rejects the ink of truth.  When truth is attempted, it is not absorbed but repelled, resulting in an ugly, smeared mess.  

If you or a loved one is struggling with accepting the truth in your life, The Center • A Place Of HOPE can help. Call 1-888-771-5166 / 425-771-5166 or fill out our this form and someone will be in touch with you soon.