HOLIDAY DISAPPOINTMENTS

Christmas day has finally come and gone. The tree, though still up, lacks its Holiday luster. The loneliness for many will now set in. The left over mixed emotions begin to cloud our vision and seem to collide with the disappointments of the much wanted gifts, that we did not receive or the special someone that did not show up. We tell ourselves that next year will be better, as we stare at the crumpled up bits of Christmas paper on the floor that now resembles confetti. The living room that just a few days before, looked like a festive and elegant Target commercial, now looks like a circus that just finished the last show and pulled out of town, leaving a trail of debris down the halls and into the kid’s bedrooms. We begin that dreaded questioner that we force ourselves every year to take as we review our Holiday. Was it the best day of the year, or did it turn out to be the worst? Did we find the true spirit of Christmas or did we allow the disappointments to over shadow the things that could of brought us the joy that was intended, had our focus been on what it should have been on. Was this how the shepherds felt, after the angels ceased their singing and they returned to their flocks in the fields? Did they experience the same let down? Wonder what the magi felt, when they began the long trip back home as Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt as they were warned to do? Did they wonder, like we do? Did they question like we do, “was this it”? Everything that we had been waiting for and this is it? A baby in a manger? A gift card from a family member along with a food hangover for eating way too much! May I tell you from experience sweet friend that every glory fades, when it is misplaced, in the wrong thought or idea. Disappointment is nothing more that the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the non-fulfillment of our hopes or expectations. You didn’t get the job you wanted, Someone you love let you down. Your Christmas did not turn out the way you had hoped. Whatever the circumstances, it didn’t turn out how you expected, and now you’re disappointed.

Disappointment can hover over us bringing about a very grey perspective upon our situation and if you don’t know what your core values are, you may not have a framework to support you when you experience negative emotions that cause the dreaded, Eeyore syndrome. If you stop and think about it, the Bible is full of disappointed people. John, Moses, David, Jacob, Hannah, Mary and Martha, just to mention a few. Even Jesus experienced disappointment on many levels during His life as people refused to heed the Good News that He was bringing. His heart panged as His disciples and closet friends didn’t understand or believe. Nor, as He encountered the ritualistic mindsets of the religious Pharisees. The good thing though, was that many of those biblical characters overcame their disappointments and were able to accomplish what the devil meant by using their disappointments against them to bring about good in their lives. We too will face disappointment again and again in our lives, but how we respond to it should change over time. We should find ourselves staying away from the emotional roller coasters every time we don’t get what we want or what we expected in our circumstances. It should become less about what we desire and more about what God desires for us. As Jesus prayed when He asked God to spare Him the suffering that He knew He would face on the cross, "yet not my will, but yours be done" Luke 22:42. This is the great lesson that we must learn from Him. When something bad happens in our life, it’s not a time to blame God, but a time to run to Him and remember that God didn’t disappoint us, but that life’s circumstances and people disappointed us. Always remember to fight your disappointments with truth and not with pity and gloom as you go into your new year!

Happy New Year!

Bren