Everyone is told “no, you can’t” during the course of their lives, from the age of two when your parents try to keep you from danger or discipline you,  through adulthood when perhaps you’ve been rejected…by a lover or spouse, employer or even a friend or family member. It can hurt…real bad. But I believe it’s how we deal with the rejection that counts. Maybe we can learn something or grow from the experience…whether it’s that we need to change, or that we need to be more careful, or sometimes, that we need to shake it off and move on. It can especially be hurtful if you’re pursuing a dream that you believe in with your whole heart and soul and someone, maybe even a close friend or family member, tells you “no, you can’t/shouldn’t/mustn’t” for whatever reason (“you’re not good enough/rich enough/who do you think you are?”) Jesus, his disciples and many prophets throughout the ages, faced this same rejection. “’Isn’t this Joseph’s son?’ they asked. Jesus said to them… ‘Truly I tell you…no prophet is accepted in his hometown.’ They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff.  But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.” (Luke 4:14-30). He also told his disciples, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet’.” (Matt 10:14) Even if you are the only person who believes in  yourself and your dream, as long as you believe it is God’s Will, don’t listen to the naysayers…because you’re not alone with God on your side.Â
