Acceptance

“For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain.” ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

It's hard to believe that it's already the middle of January and time for another blog post.  So many of you wonderful people have been asking how I am doing, how I am coping with so much loss, disappointment and pain.   At times I wonder myself how I'm coping and there are times when I fall apart. But on the whole I believe it has a lot to do with a word I am coming to terms with gradually:  acceptance.  I have had loads of time to think about that word, and I'd like to share what it has come to mean to me.I have discovered that first of all, acceptance is being open to receiving love, care and respect from people who want to reflect back the love they have received from you when it was needed. To accept means that one doesn't always have to be The Giver and that it's really okay and important to be the receiver at times. In fact it's a gift to offer someone their chance to be the giver and allow yourself to simply receive with grace.I've also learned that acceptance is realizing that not everything were dream or hope for will necessarily come true. Sometimes we will be disappointed. Sometimes we will suffer. Sometimes we will not be able to follow our dreams.  It may be that things we just took for granted we would always be able to do are suddenly unavailable to us.Acceptance may also require a willingness to understand that some of the people we thought we could really count on just can't be there for us for whatever reasons. However, as one of life’s great ironies, there are those who we least expected we could count on who become a constant presence and comfort to us.Perhaps most importantly for me as I continue to explore acceptance, is coming to terms with the fact that what I hoped for, like regaining my full ability to walk, to swim, hike and climb hills might not be possible for me again. I may need to readjust my expectations and maybe the real hope should be that this crazy Paraneoplastic Syndrome just won't get worse and take over more of my central nervous system’s ability to function. I’m trying to take it in bite size pieces and learn to accept each day one by one. I'm so blessed because there have been great doctors and nurses in the hospital I've been in who take such loving care of me and are helping me to work on healing.I hope that all of you as you read this can learn to accept the things that come into your life - surprises both good and bad, the challenges and joys, the difficulties and the gifts.  They are all part of our life and perhaps we have to learn to accept all as a gift.  That doesn't mean we become passive.  It doesn't mean we give up the fight to get better and work hard to have a quality of life that is what we hope and dream for, but it does mean we acknowledge that there are things that come into our lives that we cannot control.  It means we need to embrace the unthinkable and begin to learn acceptance, a day at a time.* What are some of the issues and problems that you are facing that may require your acceptance?* Have you learned to accept certain things and then felt a sense of relief and peace once you did?Beloved God, perhaps one of the most difficult things we face in our lives is to learn to be accepting of those things that we really cannot change. It is very complicated for us.   We ask for your help, your guidance, your love.Help us to learn to trust you completely, that you will love us even when we are facing the toughest of times. Amen.