The Seed of Rejection

"Come all you weary,
With your heavy loads,
Lay down your burdens;
Find rest for your souls.
My yoke is easy
And my burden is kind;
I'll take yours upon me,
And you can take mine.
Come all you weary,
Who move through the earth;
Who've been spurned at fine restaurants,
And kicked out of church.
I've got a couple of loaves,
So sit down at my feet;
Lend me your ears
And we'll break bread and eat.
Come all you weary.
Come, gather 'round near me;
Find rest for your souls.
Come all you weary;
You crippled, you lame,
I'll help you along;
You can throw down your canes.
We've got a long way to go,
But we'll travel as friends.
The light's growing bright;
Further up, further in."
-'Come All You Weary' by Dustin Kensrue

It never fails, every year I have some 'bad mamas' here on the farm that give birth to multiples (twins or triplets) and they reject one. Sometimes, a baby is rejected because there's genuinely something wrong with it, but other times it's simply because mom prefers one baby over the other. Right now, I'm bottle feeding one of these--a perfectly healthy alpine buckling that his mom decided she didn't like after nursing him along with his sister for a few days. It's pathetic to see him run to his mom with his little tail wagging and watch her plow her head mercilessly into his side to prevent him from drinking her milk.

Some of us have literally been rejected by one or both of our parents. All of us have been rejected by someone. Maybe it's because there was something wrong with us. Maybe it's not. Maybe, in some instances, there was nothing wrong with either person but God needed to break up that relationship. Any way that rejection comes, though, it hurts. It's up to us whether we are going to let that seed of rejection spring into a tree of bitterness. "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears." -Hebrews 12:14-17

Guard your heart and be certain that whatever you do, you don't let the seed of rejection sprout a tree of bitterness. Esau emotionally reacted to the chastening of his foolishness and sought the destruction of his brother, Jacob. However, when he rejoined with Jacob, they embraced as brothers. Whoever has spurned you, forsaken you, judged you, or even literally abused you...I encourage you to embrace them as family if at all possible. Many, many years passed before Jacob and Esau were reunited. It may be that whoever has hurt you will not cross your path again for so many years as well. Use those years to put an ax to the root of bitterness and turn your seed of rejection over to God. He can change the inner workings of it to grow a tree of forgiveness.

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A seed of rejection planted in the flesh will grow a tree of bitterness. A seed of rejection planted in the spirit will grow a tree of forgiveness.
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God offers a place of rest for our torn souls. When 'bad mama' has rejected her baby, I scoop up the crying, rejected kid and nurse it as if it were my own. I warm milk in bottles, teach it to drink, and keep a schedule for it. Often, I even put a diaper on the baby with a hole for the tail so it can run around the house and even come with us to other people's houses. When you've been rejected, cry out! The Good Shepherd will hear your cries and scoop you up and tend to your needs.

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands..." -Isaiah 49:15-16

When I first fell in love with the Lord, He spoke to me through the words of a poem written by e.e. cummings. I know nothing of this poet's life. I don't know if he knew Christ or if he was a devout pagan, but I know my Lord said to me these words through him:

"here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)"

May God bless you extremely as you seek Him as your everything and your filler of holes that others have made. He longs to scoop you up and make you more His own every day. He wants to be daddy to you. Cry out 'Abba Father'!