The word “acceptance” holds many things within its ten letters. In fact, you may have thought in reading my earlier post that I was giving up. Perhaps it sounded as if I was no longer going to fight a battle with two chronic health issues. That wasn’t my intention when I said I was choosing to accept my lot and move on.

If I give up my fight to find relief from pain, promise in research, and consultation with specialists, I let down a lot of people, myself included. My family is at the top of the list. And I would never want to let them down. In addition, I would be walking away from many others in the same situation I’ve met in a Facebook group. In supporting each other, we find ways to work with certain modalities in relieving our pain or depression. 

I also believe I would be turning my back on God’s purpose for my life. There are many things I can no longer do in His Kingdom, such as volunteering, teaching, leading, and more. But there are also many things I can do, such as computer assistance, telephone calls, and writing notes. I can accept the differences I see in others and treat humanity with kindness and grace.

The following words explain this better than I can:

“Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation; it means understanding that something
is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it.”

― Michael J. Fox

While writing this post, it occurred to me that I should choose “acceptance” as my word for 2022. I prefer to choose a word and hold it out in front of me as a guide to some change I want to make in my life. This proves more successful for me than making a list of resolutions I know I’ll never keep.

What about you? Did you make resolutions? Have you ever chosen a word for the year?
Try it—you may find it makes a difference to have a goal or a guiding word.

Sherrey

Image attribution: Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash