the face of rejection

I’m recently submitted a few applications to grad schools. I got my first rejection yesterday.

When talking with an old friend last night, he said, “What else can you do in the face of rejection but sing?” He immediately brought up Amy Grant’s “Hopes Set High,” one of the songbook hits he and I used to play together around the fire at summer camp. It was good to reminisce for a moment, to remember where I come from and why I do what I do.

This morning, I had another classic about hope on repeat in my head.

Maybe we never make peace with rejection, but we can certainly be grateful for the things that keep us humble, for the closing of doors and opening of windows, for the practicing hope, for the opportunity to sing because it’s all we can do.