Dealing with Disappointment

Dealing with Disappointment!

How do we deal with one of life's guarantees? Having to experience disappointment is the one thing that we will all go through in life.  It is not easy, but we will all need to embrace it at some point in our lives. 

This last weekend, my son and I got to experience this firsthand. We had just disembarked from the train, when we heard that the Cape Town Marathon had been cancelled. Initially all of the runners thought it was some kind of hoax, but as we walked towards the start line, we realised it was true. We could not believe it. The disappointment in the air was palpable, and very soon the adrenaline seeped out of our bodies. The race was done, even before we started.

So, how do we all deal with disappointment? Eliza Tabor once wrote:

“Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.”

Well, I trust that this will be true in some way. However, the Bible writers add something else to the mix.

Romans 5:4 - "And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love."

1 Samuel 15:11 - Samuel was angry when he heard this. He prayed his anger and disappointment all through the night. (The Message)

I like this attitude - praying our disappointment. If anyone knows the impact of disappointment it is God. We can take all of our 'deferred hopes' to him and trust that he will revive our spirits.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Empty Nets

"Empty nets, Lord.

Moments when the strands that keep my life together seem tenuous,
thin threads incapable of holding anything of note.
My fishing futile, with nothing much to show for all I’ve done.

I sit with Peter and his friends,
cold in the dark, my minds amalgam of faith and uncertainty in equal parts with hope and fear,
not knowing what’s best, what my next move should be.
Times when I sit alone, human and vulnerable,
boat drifting in an early morning mist of fearfulness – net snagged on disappointment.
And yet you’re there, walking the edges of my life.

Calling me to one more effort,
your presence tempering the dark, your sunrise scattering the mist.
And when I move to try again, your early morning promise offers me warmth and welcome,
and the reassurance that my life is lived with you and the darkness,
and the mist don’t count.” - Eddie Askew

I absolutely love and appreciate these words from Eddie Askew. His prayer puts into words some of the fragile moments of my own faith. Eddie Askew served in the Leprosy Mission (TLM) for many years and used his talents as an author, speaker and artist to bring hope to all who suffered with Leprosy. For more on his life, read this splurb.

Living in Grace

D3LM3