dailydatewithgod

There is a time period in our lives when we are trained to look for acceptance and recognition from other people in our lives. Then, as we mature, we begin to realize that the most important acceptance and recognition comes from own acknowledgment.  Acknowledgment is a skill that is sometimes foreign to us.  Especially those of us who have spent a lot of their lives waiting and hoping for acknowledgment from outside of ourselves.  It is only natural to do so as a young developing child, but if we are to be able to stand on our own two feet, we need to begin to be for ourselves what we expect from other people.  Besides, the acknowledgment and acceptance that we get from other people is very fleeting and extremely circumstantial.  People are only able to be and do for us to the extent that they are for themselves.  We cannot give what we haven’t got.  So, in learning to acknowledge ourselves, we become a gift for the world.  If we draw our strength from within, the God that dwells within, then we can extend that energy outside of ourselves, not the other way around.  I know for me, at times it has been a painful lesson to not seek acknowledgment from outside of myself, but it is often the most painful lessons that bring us the most freedom.  It allows us to let go of old ideas that no longer work.  I realize now that looking for acknowledgment from others makes me dependent upon them and their moods which have nothing to do with me.  When I take a step back and look to God and my own heart and spirit for acknowledgment it comes from a deep firm place within that is much more resilient. I am not perfect at this by any means. I still get tripped up and find myself looking for acknowledgment and acceptance from outside of me, but I am better able to catch it.  The funny part is of course, that when acknowledgment from others comes it is a lovely and unexpected surprise. My prayer for us today is that we start with something small that we can acknowledge ourselves for so that it may grow a little more each day.