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Are you ready to say "Yes" to life?

  • Last updated: January 27, 2025 8:09 pm
  • Created: September 02, 2024 9:13 pm
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(The Lord) causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain

on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Matthew 5:45

Radical acceptance is about accepting life on life’s own terms and not resisting what you cannot or choose not to change.  It allows you to become content in the moment by accepting things as they are. It is easier to understand the concept of radical acceptance than it is put into practice. Radical acceptance does not mean that you embrace the person who hurt you as if nothing happened. You go forward with knowledge that you didn't have before. You stand up for yourself with respect. Anger and resentment serve as messages to be more careful in the future, stand up for yourself in effective ways, strengthen your support system, and use whatever knowledge you gained to be more effective in living your life. Holding on to the anger or resentment handcuffs you to the past and keeps you reliving a painful event.

Radical acceptance does not mean you are agreeing to what happened. It means you are acknowledging that the event happened and is real. Acceptance means not fighting reality. Acceptance is the only way out of the emotional hell you are experiencing.  Acknowledgement of the “what is” is not the same as judging it to be good or bad.  The point is not to judge but to simply look at reality. Observe it without judgements.  Say yes to life, just as it is.

Heavenly Father,

Please help me to embrace the life I have along with the trials.  I need to accept the truths and stop fighting them.  Help me eliminate my judgmental thinking and my high expectations. Help me get on with my life and experience radical acceptance. Grant me forgiveness along with Your divine peace. Amen

Authors

Susan Boyan

Over the last few decades of working with conflicted Christian coparents, I have encouraged parents to use their love for their children to change their own destructive behaviors. Unfortunately, this worked for only a portion of the conflicted parents. Over time, I discovered that incorporating faith into treatment has been the most effective intervention for change. I recognized many years ago the need for Christian coparents to have scripture-based skills to assist them in making personal changes. As someone who is passionate about improving the lives of families affected by divorce, and as a person of faith, this project has been on my heart for a very long time. As the proverb goes, “necessity is the mother of invention.”

My background and degrees are in special education, rehabilitation counseling, community counseling and marriage and family therapy. Furthermore, I have been writing and training on divorce related topics since 1993. I have authored professional articles on high-conflict divorce and co-authored seven books for conflicted divorced parents, as well as produced a psycho-educational coparenting video. I have also done TV interviews and frequently testify as an expert in the field of high-conflict divorce, parental alienation and parenting coordination.

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