I’m not ashamed of my story. I’ve trusted the wrong people. I’ve been hurt by some and used by others. I’ve been with people I shouldn’t have been with. I’ve wrestled with intense things. And I tell people these things so they know they aren’t alone. I don’t hide behind a false identity because I know there was purpose behind each part of my story.

I trust the reasons God let me walk the path I have. And I believe that He loves me despite every wrong choice I’ve made. But even in that confidence, I’m not bulletproof from other people’s loud opinions, nor am I immune from the sting of rejection.

Have you ever had someone walk out because of something you can’t control? Maybe a friend left because you confided in them about your past. Maybe someone harped on you because you admitted you had a problem and asked for help. Maybe someone shut you out because they didn’t accept some part of you.

Any level of rejection can hurt or damage our acceptance of ourselves. When we focus too much on how others perceive us, we miss out on remembering that God loves us for who we are. He knows exactly what we’ve been through and He loves us enough to send His son to die for us. We may seem damaged or broken in other’s eyes; however, God calls us beautiful. He not only knows what you’ve been through, but He walked every step of that battle with you. Someone else might see your battle scars and leave, but Jesus has battle scars too, and He calls you beloved.

My challenge for you today is to hold onto that reminder. Whether you’re battling negative people, or being left out because of something you can’t control, or battling acceptance because someone left you again, God is bigger. He had never left your side. He knows the pain your heart is in. Don’t let negative thoughts consume you today.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” -1 Peter 2:9

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” -1 John 3:1-2