In my Faithful Wanderer email inbox, I have a folder labeled, “Rejections,” which are replies to my interview proposals. And in that folder are emails with messages along the lines of, “Thank you for your offer to interview so-and-so! Unfortunately at this time so-and-so is unable to participate in interviews. Try again another time!“

I only have four emails in there—but that’s not including the ‘silent rejections’ as I like to call them, from people who didn’t respond to my emails.

Now, why do I bring this up?

Because I failed.

I didn’t succeed in making these interviews possible, I didn’t get to know that specific person or speaker or author, and I didn’t achieve the goal I had.

But I’m not sad about it—why?

Because that’s part of the journey—hundreds of authors and speakers have heard the word, “Sorry, not right now.” Most of them have even heard, “Not a bleeping chance, try someone else.”

Rejection is part of the journey to success.

Rejection doesn’t just apply to getting a yes for an interview. It could also mean, “No, I don’t want to come to church with you.” Or, “No, I don’t think we should date anymore.” Or, “No, I don’t think you’re a right fit for the job.”

So when I receive these rejections, I accept the disappointment. It’s okay to feel disappointed, right? But the rejections do not define me, my mission, or The Faithful Wanderer.

But after accepting the fact that they said no, I say, “Okay, I wanted to do that but it’s alright. Onto the next opportunity!”

Other peoples’ rejections do not define you, your worth, or your work.

It’s part of the thing we love to call growing pains. Not a permanent failure, but rather a temporary pain.

David writes in Psalm 139:

‘I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.’ (Psalms 139:14 NIV)

This verse is so encouraging because we are wonderfully made—and God gives us talents and gifts that he has a plan for. But for those talents to be successful, first we must be unsuccessful.

In the Bible, there are many, many stories of people who were unsuccessful. That’s not surprising—they were people too. So don’t be intimidated by their stories of success because first you have to look at their stories of unsuccess.

Thanks for reading, I hope this was encouraging!
~Willow

Note: I’m aware I didn’t have a post for Saturday—I’ve decided to stop posting on Saturdays because I post really frequently, as well as the fact that I need to focus on my school and work since life has gotten busier. Thanks for understanding!🙃