Another Disappointment

Earlier this week my planned trip to Pigeon Forge had to be cancelled.  That was a disappointment.

Today I'm experiencing another disappointment.  I had planned to drive over to Greensboro this afternoon and spend the weekend with AJ.  And with his parents, too, of course!

But I had to cancel those plans.  I'm a little under the weather, as the expression goes.  So, not a good idea to get in a car and drive to Greensboro, where I would likely infect their household as well.  It's time for my annual fall cold, I guess.  Which means that instead of enjoying hugs and giggles and baseball, I'm sitting here with my tissues and hot tea and my blanket.  Feeling pretty yucky.  And disappointed.

The bright spot in the day has been the delivery of our new chairs.  So, at least I'm sitting in a comfortable chair instead of the old, worn-out one!

Life can be full of disappointments.  Whether the disappointment of a Nana who had looked forward to time with her grandson, or the disappointment of friends who have to postpone their planned visit, or any of the myriad other circumstances that disappoint us, disappointment is one of life's unpleasant realities.  Things don't always work out the way we plan them, do they?  In the words of one of my favorite poets, Robert Burns, "the best laid plans of mice and men go oft awry."   (I'm sure I've quoted him before!)

Disappointment comes in other forms as well.  Certainly we are disappointed when our plans don't work out.  We're disappointed when we don't get our favorite pie for dessert.  Or when we don't get dessert at all!  We're disappointed when we discover we're out of our favorite cereal.  Or when we stop by our favorite coffee shop, ready for a latte, only to discover the espresso machine is being serviced.  Lots of little disappointments in life.

We are also often disappointed by people - by relationships, by dishonest communications, by broken promises.  Those disappointments are even more difficult to deal with than altered plans, and certainly much more difficult to deal with than having to skip the latte.

How do we cope with these disappointments?  While a pity party might seem the most logical place to start, it really isn't an effective strategy!  In all our disappointments - large and small, whether to do with people or places or things or schedules - where do we turn?  As the gospel hymn writer J. B. Coats wrote, "where could I go but to the Lord?"

In all the circumstances of life - the disappointments, the anxieties, the hurts, the fears, the worries - where else could we turn?  Who else understands as well?  Who else cares as much?

So, today I'm disappointed.  Again.  But in this, as in all things, I'm trusting that God has a purpose.  That there's a reason my plans didn't work out.  So I'm leaving it with Him.  And adding more honey to my tea.

"casting all your care on Him, for He cares for you."  (1 Peter 5:7 NKJV)