Growing up in a Christian household, I would frequently hear that the Lord would remove people and situations from your life that are not meant for you. Whether it be a friend, romantic partner, or work situation, if it isn’t meant for you or if its presence causes distress, the Lord will remove you from the situation or block you from being in the situation. However, society teaches us to view rejection as a negative experience. Rejection is often interpreted as you are not good enough, worthy enough, or important enough. Rejection is almost always a redirection; sometimes that redirection can be a blessing. When you are redirected, you are shifted to a different situation, person, place, and even purpose. You can be redirected to a more positive work environment, entrepreneurship, a healthy and supportive friendship, a long-term partnership, new passions, or even a new career path. I would like to share a verse from the New King James version of Psalms 118:22 that states “the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” Initially that stone was not viewed as useful to the construction project by the initial builders, but later the stone became the foundation for the project. The same concept can be applied to your rejections in life. Look back at the times you were rejected and explore which direction you were redirected.
When I look back at the rejections I experienced, they have redirected me to opportunities to grow personally and professionally. I pursued my first Masters in the mental health field with the desire to work with pediatric clients and utimately work with population level interventions such as program/policy development and evaluation. I had been able to work with pediatric clients and within maternal mental health settings, but also had experience working with different populations. I felt as if I was not working with the population I preferred, and when I attempted to return to working with the pediatric population I had been rejected a few times. I used the rejection to return to school, to prepare for population level interventions as a public health professional. My redirection allowed me to fully explore my passion with maternal child and infant health and provided me with the opportunity to share knowledge and resources with others.
The next time you are rejected, reframe the experience as a redirection. Prepare for your redirection with other options such as pursuing school, entreprenership, traveling, or finding new passions.
Wishing you health and happiness
My Mind, My Body, My Journey™ 