Choosing Brave in the Face of Rejection

By Jennie Denney

God's Brave Women - Jennie's Story

"Instead of announcing who made the team, we're going to hand out envelopes as you leave today to let you know whether you made the team or not because only one of you didn't make it."

I rose from where I was seated with the other girls on the high school gym floor who tried out for the freshman softball team, feeling a knot in my stomach. I met eyes filled with pity as I reached for the threatening white envelope, and I knew I was the one who did not make the team.

I walked out of that gym by myself, and as I neared the blue double doors on the other end of the hallway, I slowly opened up the white envelope, took out the paper, and read the words I knew were coming, "You did not make the team."

I tossed the white envelope and paper into the garbage can and made a silent promise to myself to never try out for something where I might face rejection again.

"I tossed the white envelope and paper into the garbage can and made a silent promise to myself to never try out for something where I might face rejection again."

It's interesting how childhood experiences can flare up at the most unsuspecting times so many years later. Here I am in my mid-thirties with a husband and four kids. I've traveled the world, worked to rescue victims of human trafficking, lived in an intentional community, and I'm almost a seminary graduate. I’ve done many brave things in m