Life's Disappointments

Life is full of disappointments.  It's literally always something.  Sometimes the disappointments are huge and other times it's just a momentary "shrug of the shoulders" disappointment.  This week  has just been a "losing" kind of week for me.  First, my candidate, Mitt, gets beat.  Then, several of "my teams" get beat and before you know it, heck, I've been on the "losing end" the entire week.  It should come as no surprise that the weekly Bible Study I go to on the Book of Daniel, was about the approaching tribulation and end of the world prophesies.   Just perfect to go with the kind of week I was in the middle of.......stinky, loser week.  As usual, I'm really trying to see the glass "half full."  I'm hopeful,  I'm praying,  I'm even listening to praise music to lighten my spirits.  I end the stressful week by making a full recipe of fudge tarts and enjoying every bite.  Nothing seems to help............

I think we can all agree that as "middle agers" we have dealt with our share of disappointments in life.  I'm talking about disappointments, not devestating events that are truly life changers.  The things like presidential elections, football games, failed tests, missed opportunities........those types of things.  By the time we reach 40-50 years of age we have learned to shrug our shoulders and probably mutter something under our breath like "Unbelievable," or, if you're a little more disappointed you might emaphatically say, "Man, that sucks."  (I know, I know..... Southern ladies should not say "sucks" but that sortof goes out the window when you're truly disappointed.)  Having said this, disappointment rises to an entirely,  I mean hugely, entirely, different level when our children suffer disappointments.  I have been known to literally turn red starting with my toes and ending with fire coming from my mouth and ears when I feel that my kid has been "wronged."    Whoever said that the "wrath of a woman is like none other" was a very very wise person.   The problem comes when you know deep down, as a parent, that your child must suffer disappointment in life in order to learn how to deal with life.   We would love nothing better than to go in "firing with both barrels" but we know deep down that is not the answer.  I think about how many times I have been disappointed and hurt through the years by friends, coaches, teachers, and sometimes, family.  I also think about organizations like schools, churches, teams, work places, politics, etc.... that I feel have treated me unfairly.   I have spent the past week going over some of these in my mind because I have truly had a "poor pitiful me" week and have, oddly enough, pondered through a lot of the disappointing moments in my life.   I can say that most, if not all, of those experiences had a pretty profound way of shaping who I am today.  I don't really remember if it was by nature that I dealt with these disappointments in a certain way or if my parents taught me how to deal with them.  It was probably a combination of the two.

What I know for sure and for certain, after having a pretty miserable time at my pity party this week, is that I don't want to be that person.  I don't want to be negative, and skeptical, and bitter and yuck.  I want to be joyful and happy.  Do I feel the need to have a "pity party" every so often?  Yes!!!  ...But I am thankful for friends and family who refuse to let me "park" there.  They encourage me to "move on."   I always said that I NEVER want to be the older person who is bitter and griping and complaining.  I want to be encouraging to younger folks and give them hope when the world disappoints them.  I'm finding that harder to do, the older I get, and the more I learn about how mean and unfair the world can be. 

This week as I was rounding the corner on my street I saw my precious neighbor, whose name I don't even know.  She gives me inspiration even though she has no idea who I am or that I am watching her.  It might be very cold or very rainy but she finds the strength to walk every day.  She "keeps on, keepin on." (And might I add that she had 4 Romney/Ryan signs in her yard.)    I also went to a college football game this weekend.  There I saw all kinds of people on walkers or in wheelchairs.  They had obviously struggled to get there.  Most were smiling and laughing and holding on to their mate.  They were loving life.  I see "Wounded Warriors" riding bikes while missing arms and legs,  I see posts on Facebook about parents who are taking care of premature babies and then I see posts about children who are fighting cancer, and winning.   I think that it's OK to vent every once in a while.  It's even OK to say that something "sucks" when it does.  It might even be OK to question God and why he allows certain things to happen in this world.  But it is never OK to lose our joy that comes through God's new mercies that he graciously gives to us every morning.   The joy that the creator of this universe loves us and has our backs, even when we don't realize it or even believe it.  He still does.  This, my friends is what I will ponder this week.  No more whining and griping..........I will ponder the amazing love that I never even earned or asked for.......I just received it.  Unbelievable.

 "And HOPE, does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts, by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."  Romans 5:5