Acceptance

Is it only in acceptance that I willing to change?  If I make a mistake, or if there is a place in me that I don't like or don't approve of, will self flagellation heal me of it?  Or will it only drive it deeper inside of me, only to come out in other ways, or to come back only this time with more bitterness?  Is it only in internalizing God's love for me that my traps start to loose grip on me?  Who am I to believe, God or me?  If I am seen as accepted, seen as loved, seen as cared for, seen with a desire to be freed from traps, if I let these speak into my life, then maybe my traps feel less need to clamp down, because One who knows better speaks a better and more true word.