Shell Perris looks at how to move on

Shell Perris

I was sat on the train on the way back from my new years trip to Brussels when a young man walked onto the train carrying several bags. He dumped them on the seat opposite me and hurried off. A minute later the same man came back with more bags and a pushchair. I was intrigued! Following him was a teenage girl carrying a baby. They sat down on opposite sides of the train. He started reading a newspaper and she just sat there amidst a whole heap of essential baby baggage.

A few minutes later, boredom settled in and the distressed baby started crying. The young mum reached in her bag, pulled out a dummy and stuck it in her baby's mouth. Just as the baby was about to calm down the young father threw down his newspaper and shouted, 'SHUT UP! Stupid baby!' This was the pattern for the rest of their journey. I have never before heard anyone tell another person to 'shut up' so many times in such a short space of time.

My train had reached its destination. I gathered my belongings and left the train feeling sad and anxious. That baby knew what it felt like to be rejected. I'm guessing he'd only been alive for a few months and already the 2 people he was depending on the most were letting him down. He wouldn't have been aware of it at the time but that lack of love he has experienced as a young baby will undoubtedly play its part as he grows up.

It got me thinking about God and the fact that he is our Heavenly Father. Would he ever tell us to shut up? Would he ever call us stupid for expressing the way we feel? No. He wouldn't turn us away or disregard our feelings. He would simply listen and embrace us. He would understand us and help us. He would unconditionally love us.

You see God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows our thoughts before we think them. He knows our words before we say them. He knows what makes us tick and what doesn't. It's mind blowing to think that whatever happens in the future or whatever has happened in the past, God knows.

You may have been through times when you have felt rejected and unloved. Maybe you've experienced a form of abuse or abandonment. Maybe you've been let down by someone you love and have been left to pick up the pieces. Maybe you've got everything you've ever wanted but you still feel empty and unsatisfied. Maybe other things have happened in your past and it has affected your future and the way you behave now. God knows. Reach out and he'll be there. Allow him to love you through it and he will. Experiencing rejection is painful and it cuts deep but God can go deeper and uproot and remove it. It won't happen over night and it probably won't be easy but it will enable you to live in freedom. After all, Jesus didn't die on the cross so that we would live life being trapped. He died to set us free.

If you've been affected by rejection, perhaps you'd like to turn to God for help now and pray in the Cross Rhythms Prayer Rooms.