OVERCOMING DISAPPOINTMENTS

Even though yesterday was not a Monday, it certainly had all the markings of a Monday. People tired from the holiday, behind in their work, just plain old not wanting to be where they were!

I ended another day with the terrible feeling of “disappointment” that actually, I have decided I set myself up for. I let myself feel I am not as good as others. My mind started flashing back and I begin blaming myself for the mistakes I’ve made in my past, mistakes in my career, I’m not the “best” mother, I’m not the “best” grandmother, and I know I’m not the “best” wife a man could have.

I got to the office early and had time to read a few devotions from Proverbs 31 and wouldn’t you know the first one I read was about “Disappointments” by Lysa Terkeurst. The last sentence in that message was actually a message I believe God wanted me to read:

“ DISAPPOINTMENT  ONLY  STINGS  AS  LONG  AS  I LET  IT ”

Powerful words! These words hit me so hard, I copied inthe largest font, printed, and taped it on my computer!

When disappointment occurs in my life, it appears to be more of an injured ego, like I’ve built up this great expectation for myself only to see myself spiraling down to the bottom of the pit. Life is a rollercoaster and I know you have to prepare yourself for the peaks and the valleys.

I began to make a list of ways to not let disappointments control my life, and even though I’m sure we have all heard them before, it helps to be reminded.

1.      Look for the positive – there may even be a positive down the road that you have not even seen yet that just might turn this disappointment or negative around!

2.      Live life with confidence, always doing your best but remember as Benjamin Franklin said, “nothing in life is for certain except death and taxes”!

3.      Dreams are just that – dreams! Try and live out achievable dreams and not ones where you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

4.      Don’t dwell on things in the past. The past is gone and the future is something we can control!

The best resource I have is my heavenly Father. When I have no strength, I should lean on Him. As I continue to lean on Him, my faith only gets stronger. I need to always remember, don’t ask “Why Lord”, ask “What now Lord”!  The answer will come in His time, possibly through another person, a circumstance He puts in my path, or through His word, The Bible.

Disappointments are growing pains and I need to learn to grown through them and to learn to appreciate what I have and not yearn or grieve for what I do not have, and most of all to remember that one sentence I read this morning when I was feeling so down, that turned it all around for me,

“DISAPPOINTMENT  ONLY  STINGS  AS  LONG  AS  I  LET  IT”!

God Bless!

Kelly