If we resist our calling, if we attempt to ignore it or push back against it, all we will find on the road ahead is pain.
When the pain of resisting the call is greater than the fears and insecurities that are keeping us back, we will take action.
We may not know why we are called to a certain path, but if we ignore the call, we will never find out.
So we must step out in faith.
The Way is only revealed along the way.
We may find ourselves wishing we could go back in time to change some decision we made in the past so that we do not have to face the consequence of that decision in the present.
Obviously, this is not possible.
What is possible, however, is to learn from the pain of our present fear and to use that pain to fuel better decision-making in the future.
But before that can happen, we must face the consequences of our decisions and take the necessary action to overcome our fear in this present moment of vulnerability.
Some people bring out the best in us.
Others bring out the beast in us.
Both are necessary.
We are not one dimensional beings.
We are complex, multi-faceted creatures capable of a wide range of emotions and behaviors from compassion and consolation to rage and violence.
To be human is to feel and experience all of these.
If someone tells us they do not value us, we should believe them.
But we should not believe for a moment that this is a reflection of our actual value.
The feelings and opinions of others do not determine our value.
Our value is intrinsic to our humanity and we owe it to ourselves to associate with people who recognize and appreciate us for who we are.
Compassion is not necessarily a two-way street.
Simply because we are willing and able to feel for others does not mean that they can or will feel for us.
The kindness, graciousness, and forgiveness we feel and express are often their own reward.
If we lack compassion, however, if we are cold, mean, and unforgiving, we can probably expect the same from others when we are down and in need of support or sympathy.
Act accordingly.
-Robert Van Valkenburgh
Meditations on God 