A continuance on the theme of being accepted

It's funny how when we're learning something God puts more knowledge about it in our path.

I was reading in C.S. Lewis' "The Weight of Glory" and one thing struck me harder than the rest. He talks about "the sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some chasm that yawns between us and reality, is part of our inconsolable secret. And surely, from this point of view, the promise of glory, in the sense described, becomes highly relevant to our deep desire. For glory means good report with God, acceptance by God, response, acknowledgment, and welcome into the heart of things. The door on which we have been knocking our whole lives will open at last."

This went so well with what I was thinking about acceptance and love. It seems like we're spending our whole life running away from our biggest fear- the fear of being left "utterly and absolutely outside- repelled, exiled, estranged, finally and unspeakably ignored" (speaking in relation to God.)

We turn to mortal acceptance as a temporary and false replacement for the desire we have to be accepted of God. It's not uncommon for us, as humans, to try to fill a void in our lives with something from the world around us. We may turn to relationships, drugs, alchohol, food, societal approval, or any number of other things to help numb the feeling that something is missing in our life. But all of these are poor substitutes for the knowledge that our life is in tune with God, that if we were to die today we would be accepted, acknowledged and welcomed into God's presence. We seek for love and God's acceptance in things that can never deliver that to us.

But God does send us help in the form of friends and family. It is through our relationships with others that we can first feel and understand His love and acceptance. God's love helps us to throw off the desire to fit in with the world. He will give us that sense of belonging that we all want. And the more we feel that we belong with God, the less it matters if we are accepted on this earth. This is true freedom.

Being Accepted, Being Loved

After our RS lesson on Sunday I got to thinking about being accepted and being loved. One of the main differences I see between being accepted and being loved is that acceptance is often a fleeting thing. People will do many things to be accepted by their peers. And many of those things are ones that they wouldn't normally do. Or that they're doing just so that other people will notice, or so that they won't stand out as being different.
But to be loved is to be able to be yourself. You don't have to change what you look like or who you are. The need to impress and be accepted is done away with.
Being loved is the ultimate goal of being accepted. It goes beyond doing things that others think you should do, or going along with the crowd so that you don't stand out. Being loved allows you to think less of yourself and your standing amongst peers and more about others and how you can share God's love with them.
You're not likely to find true acceptance and love amongst those who judge you by what you wear, how much money you make, or what your religious beliefs are.
It's taken me a long time to understand that knowing and feeling God's love makes it less likely that you'll feel the need to go along with others just for the sake of fitting in. God's love helps you to quit worrying about what other people think about you. The more that I am able to incorporate God's love into my life, the more I am able to worry more about what He thinks is cool, more about what He thinks is important, and more about others' needs instead of my own. What God thinks matters. What everyone else thinks is just opinion. (And in our culture that opinion is very aggressively manipulated through marketing.)
Our culture tends to be very egotistical and self-centered. Everything is made to be about self. If it's not worrying about your body shape or weight then it's how gray your hair is, or how long your eyelashes are or whether you wear the right brands of clothes. All of these are things that take our focus off of doing for others and puts it on ourselves. And I don't think that's what God wants. I can't see Jesus worrying about whether his nails looked nice, or whether his beard had some gray hairs. (!) I don't think He made sure to have the latest style robes or spent His money to buy jewels to adorn Himself. Can you see Jesus thinking that it's better to use our resources to try to impress others than to help lift those in need?
I'm not saying that there's no place for makeup, clothing, etc. in our lives. I think we need to be clean, presentable, and well-groomed. I'm just saying that the amount of time and money that our society puts into these things can keep us from doing much good in this world. If we take a look at what we spend our time and money on- is it the right things? Are we looking for worldly acceptance, or are we looking for God's love?

Random updates

I'm supposed to be getting more worthy pursuits taken care of right now (like cleaning the bathroom, making phone calls, running errands) but I thought I'd take some time to get caught up on blogging.
Last week was absolutely crazy busy and this morning is the first chance I've had to read everyone's blogs. It's great to read about what everyone has been up to, although some posts make me wish I could make things all better for everyone.
After a week of having short hair, I have to admit that I'm pretty happy with my decision! I still have to blow dry it when it's cold outside, but it takes half the time it used to!
I think I might be like Samson, though. It seems like getting my hair cut somehow drained me of my superpowers because I've caught yet another cold. This is getting ridiculous!! I'm normally the one who doesn't get what everyone else has. Maybe it's just my year for getting caught up on all the ones I've missed. Or maybe I can blame it on a doctor's visit that included getting a tetanus shot. Whatever it is, I'm sick of being sick!! (Especially right after the doctor tells me that I'm very healthy! Ha! Very funny.)
Is anyone else ready for spring? I can't wait for warmer temps and lots of COLOR everywhere! Winter may be necessary, but it sure is dreary!! After checking out Leslie's gardening boxes she's got me thinking of what I'd like to be planting. And how I can't wait until it's finally warm enough to do some gardening!
Saturday we went to get a family portrait taken. First time in maybe 6 years since we've had a professional one done. If you're looking for a nice, inexpensive, quick place to go... check out Portrait Innovations near the new Meijer in Colerain. Not only did they do a fantastic job with the photos, but you get them printed out while you wait. AND... they have a deal for a package for only $9.95 right now. You can't beat that! Maybe sometime I'll get one of our pics scanned and put it on here. They turned out beautifully!
Last week we had the BEST family home evening ever. We were able to go and help out a couple in our ward with some needs they had. It wasn't anything big or earth-shattering, but it was great to go as a family and be able to help out. It was also fun getting to know this couple better. I wish we had a lot more opportunities to do stuff like this for FHE's. (Please let me know of any service opportunities you're aware of!!)
If anyone hasn't had the chance to get to meet some of the newer members of our ward, you really should get to know them. I can't believe how greatly we've been blessed by the sweet spirits of our newest sisters. If we'd all reach outside of our comfort zones and be the first to initiate a conversation- we could all make a LOT more friends! (And I'm not saying this as "RS president." I've just gotten tired in my own life of missing out on getting to know such great people!)
I'd better get to work on my "to-do" list now. Keep on bloggin'!