LynnMc Press

A surprise to many fans, Taylor Hanson married his girlfriend Natalie Bryant on June 8th, 2002. Many blessings and best wishes go to the new couple.

I hope you all had a great Hanson Day this year! This is a graphic I made for the occasion. I have a feeling there will be many more years of Hanson music to come! I can't wait for their new album!

Rejection! One of the most painful things anyone could ever experience. Most everyone has been through some sort of rejection in their life. Whether it be your best friend not wanting to be your friend anymore, or a divorce, or the hurtful breakup with someone you love. Even young children can feel rejected. When you were little, were you ever picked last during the choosing of players on the school's ball game during recess? Or have you entered a contest you worked so hard on to try to win, only to find out you didn't even make the top ten on the winners list. Chances are you feel the pains of rejection.

Rejection can tear you apart. Someone who once liked you or loved you suddenly doesn't care for you anymore. Those feelings of rejection can be as if a sharp knife pierced your skin and jammed into your heart. Especially when someone says to you, "I want to separate from you...I don't love you anymore...you are no longer a part of my life."

Words like that or similar to that being said to you HURTS!!!! And we stand there and just ask ourselves..."WHY???...Why did this person leave me? Why does this person not even want to try to mend our friendship...what did I do wrong?" as we feel our heart break into a million pieces right before us.

I myself have experienced some very painful rejections in my life....the most painful is a dear friend of mine named Cathy who helped me when my life was at the end of it's rope. She is a missionary to India and she and I were best friends for seven years. I even had a sponsored child that I got through Cathy in the orphanage she works at in India who I also lost when our friendship ended. My friendship with Cathy used to be very strong and we were supposed to be friends forever until one day I received a hurtful letter from her, saying she wanted to separate. I wrote to her and asked her why....and I tried to fix things with our friendship but she didn't want to listen. She wanted me out of her life as soon as possible. So I did the only thing I could do.....I let her go. As much as it killed me to let her and Tashi go, I had to release her from my life and try to go on without the joy of a special friendship she and I shared. I'm sure the little girl I sponsored has forgotten me by now. Yes it almost killed me when it first happened, but I stayed strong and slowly but surely my heart healed. It took awhile though.

Imagine two pieces of paper glued together, then those two pieces are pulled apart...where they both were glued together. The paper is no longer smooth but very rough where both pieces were pulled away from each other. That's how I felt. It hurt. And I also have had recent rejection from some friends I used to be close friends with on the internet. So I've really had a lot of hurt to go through.

Being a Hanson fan, one of the things that helped me heal was their powerful lyrics in some of their songs. Some songs can really hit home with going through rejection. And I want to share with you some of Hanson's song lyrics and how they help ease the hurt caused by rejection.

"You have so many relationships in this life, only one or two will last.....So hold on to the ones who really care, in the end they'll be the only ones there."-MMMBop

This song has so much meaning that a lot of non Hanson fans miss. It is possible that not all relationships you make will last, but there is always someone you can trust that will be your friend forever. Just listen to your heart and it will let you know who those people are. For example your Mom and Dad. They are the best friends you could ever have. They understand you, they are always there for you to support and love you. So hold on to them...hold on to them tightly...they won't ever let you go.

"In this life long, love song, you can love right, you can love wrong. In this love song you can love long, but if you love wrong it doesn't mean love's gone...And it doesn't mean love's wrong just because you're feeling low. And it doesn't mean love's gone cause you feel like you want to let go.." Love Song

This song was the song that helped me the most in the healing from rejection. This song lets me know that love lasts forever. If someone has rejected you, it doesn't mean you'll never love someone else again or no one will love you again. At first it may feel that way, believe me, I felt that very strongly at first. But soon your realize that yes, you CAN love someone else and make new friends. No matter what, somewhere someone is there for you. Just believe in yourself, don't give up. You'll win the battle of rejection. Also if you are feeling upset, it doesn't mean love is gone...it's still there...because love never dies. Feel it. Feel it in your heart. And if you have to let go of someone as I had to let go of my friend Cathy and some of my internet friends, don't feel bad for letting go. You know you did the right thing if the other person doesn't want to have anything to do with you anymore. Love is never gone.

"We've got to change our point of view if we want the sky blue."-Where's the Love

That part of the song tells me to look to the positive. Sometimes that is very hard to do, it's much easier said than done. But if we focus only on the negative things in our lives, it will only bring us down and keep us down till it makes it harder and harder to get back up again. Even if you feel like you will never smile again, just try to think on good things. Be happy you can see, you can hear, you can walk...Hey be happy you are even breathing!! When you focus more on the good than the bad, that's when the sun will come back out in your life and the clouds will part away to a beautiful blue sky.

"We've lived in the shadows, but doesn't everyone."-Weird

And also, know if you are feeling the hurt of rejection, know you are NOT alone! Many many others have lost friendships and lost people they loved. It may sometimes seem like you are the only one feeling rejected, but really, you are not. Share your feelings with someone, your parents, brothers and sisters, your best friends, they will listen to you and be there for you when you need a shoulder to cry on or to help bring that smile back on your face.

And I want to thank Hanson for helping me get through the loss of some of my friendships. They really can write songs of healing. Thank you Hanson!

NOTE: I have started a website that tells more about my friendship with Cathy and the Children's Home she works at in India. If you would like to know a little more and see some pictures of the children, visit my other website called OUR FATHER'S FAMILY: A FAMILY LOST BUT NOT FORGOTTEN. It's still under major construction though. LOL!