Nona Jones Opens Up about Overcoming Rejection in Her Powerful New Book 'The Gift of Rejection'
When describing who Nona Jones is, it's a combination of wife, mom, pastor's wife, author, tech guru, former Facebook executive, and the list could go on. One thing that many would have a hard time wrapping their mind around is that of someone who has faced severe rejection, which is why Jones decided that now is the right time to open up her life and give her audience a peak into how she has faced rejection from family, friends, colleagues. Jones wants her audience to know that God can heal the rejection that has taken place in our lives and even bring it around as a gift to us.
Crosswalk Headlines: Where were you when you decided to write the book The Gift of Rejection?
Nona Jones: Right after I released my last book in 2022, Killing Comparison, I released a 90-second social media reel of how I endured rejection, and it took off. And I kind of just posted it, and I didn't think much of it, but there was so much response to that 90 seconds of just impromptu thoughts that I was like, I think something's here. And so that's what made me decide to go deeper and write the book.
CWH: Where does your vulnerability come from when opening up about your life?
NJ: Everything that happens to us happens for us. When I was in college, I had a situation where a roommate of mine went through a really traumatic experience; up until that point, I hadn't shared anything about my past, my upbringing, my life, none of that, but she was so devastated that in my attempt to encourage her, I simply shared my story. At that moment, there was something in her that kind of lit up, you know, knowing that she wasn't alone, knowing that there was someone who had kind of walked through the valley that she was in from that moment. I just realized that there's something here. There's something about being willing to be transparent.
CWH: You mention in the book that there is a difference between being vulnerable and being transparent. What is the difference?
NJ: Transparency is me showing you what I want you to see. Vulnerability is me showing you what you could use to hurt me but trusting that God is going to protect me.
CWH: What was the process like in writing the book? Did you need to go to counseling through it?
NJ: You know what's funny. In my 42 years, I have only gone to therapy once, and that was in December of 2023. I went for the first time in my life, and I'll tell you the reason why I haven't gone to therapy as much is because I truly believe that ministry has been my therapy, not necessarily from a place of victimization or defeat, but from a place of victory. I write the books that I need. So, every book that I've written was a book that I needed.
CWH: You say in the book that where you fix your eyes is where you will go. Can you please explain that?
NJ: We first must be intentional about being aware of our emotions. Because a lot of times we are fixated on things that don't bring us joy, we're fixated on things that make us sad, discouraged, depressed, and we're fixated on it, mostly because I think those situations, in some ways, they kind of reaffirm beliefs that we have about ourselves. For example, you know, we're talking about rejection.
The reason why I think we ruminate on rejection so much is because we believe that we were not worthy in the first place. We ruminate on it because it aligns with what we already believe. But we absolutely must fix our eyes on jesus, and we have to find our hope in jesus. Isaiah chapter 40:31 tells us that finding hope in jesus will renew our strength, and we will mount up on wings like eagles. We will run and not faint. We will run and not grow weary; we will soar. I think we must place our hope in him and keep our eyes fixated on him because that's how we're going to be able to endure.
Photo Credit: ©Facebook/Nona Jones
Originally published February 05, 2025.
