Fear of Rejection

In physical wounds, we can easily identify the wound based on the area of pain. Emotional wounds, however, become masked in our everyday life because we simply learn how to press forward without giving the wound the proper care to heal. Some of us get very accustomed to picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves off, and moving on to the next chapter in our lives. And that's fine and dandy for a moment. But at some point, we must face the pain in order for the healing to be effective. When we face the pain, we acknowledge that we've been hurt by someone else's actions. We can then attempt to determine why the action affected us the way that it did. During one of my own healing sessions, I discovered a wound that I had been carrying around since childhood. It was the fear of rejection. In my interactions with people, if I sensed there was a possibility of someone rejecting me, I immediately shut down all emotional connections to the person. As I worked through identifying this, I faced the fear, and I decided at that point, I no longer wanted to run away from relationships simply because I "thought" I was going to be rejected. I examined the many relationships that I had abruptly ended because of this fear. I sought every inch of the wound that was in my heart and forgave the person that had inflicted the wound. I then asked God to forgive me for all of those that I had hurt while attempting to defend myself. From that point forward, if I start to feel that fear within my relationships, I make a conscious choice to examine the reason why I feel fearful. I can then determine if I want to continue the relationship and work with the person without just revolting and leaving my dust behind. This new outlook has helped me to retain some relationships that have been instrumental in my emotional growth, and I thank God for opening up my heart for this healing.