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| My boy studying plays. |
To my eight year old, this loss is devastating; I saw it in
the tears he was trying hard to hold back.
His passion for the game of football and the Greenbay Packers has been
building this season with his own opportunity to play the role of quarterback on his flag football team.
As I read the pain in my boy’s eyes from the game lost it
somehow touched the tender spots of disappointments in my own heart—not
from the game of football, but from the game of life.
Has disappointment hit your heart recently?
Just this week something triggered a past hurt and I
recognized that I must not allow this disappointment to throw away my
confidence. (Hebrews 10:35)
Some disappointments like losing the game or not getting the
position we applied for can take the wind out of us for a moment…or a few days. And there are some disappointments that touch
the heart even deeper, possibly even entangling the threads of previous hurts.
Right now I admit a memory of a past loss is weighing on my
heart and taking up more action in my thoughts than I care to admit. I can’t deny the pain in my heart; it breeds
discouragement in the recesses of my heart, like the leftovers breed mold on
the food misplaced in the recesses of the refrigerator.
Through the last week or so, I’ve had various conversations
with girlfriends about disappointments that seem to be looming in both my heart
and theirs…I’m thankful for their experiences and their wise words. Maybe you need to hear these too:
“You don’t have to win to prove your value”
“Life is messy and dirty, shake it off; and then MOVE ON”
“Remember where you’ve come and where He’s brought you…there
is HOPE.”
“A new season waits.”
There is hope. There
is a friend of all friends, who brings hope and His name is Jesus. He too has felt disappointment and
frustration. He has had friends betray
Him and life exasperated him at times too…Jesus
gets your disappointment.
I’ve been walking holding Jesus’ hand while working through
my own disappointments in life. Sometimes my
fears and emotions get the best of me and my days are less than productive. But some days are awesome and full of hope
because I am listening to Him breathe life into my heart that was crushed and
mistreated.
I’m clinging to Him and the love that God has for me (1John
4:19)and through the pain He is showing me that there is a new season
coming--this disappointment is not the end. (Packers fan, a new season will
be coming!)
When a disappointment hits and when I feel that the ones God
has placed in my life to care for me and shepherd my heart are not making the
mark, He speaks louder with His love and encourages me to keep going—I’m not
perfect either--and no on ever has to be. (Oh, the freedom when we get this--Jesus help me get this!)
I’m partaking right now in an online study by Renee Swope. Feel free to join me, and click here, I met Renee online when I first felt the nudge
to write and she was just beginning to write her first book. Without her knowing it, her journey
encouraged mine and kept me writing even when disappointments tried hard to keep me
from writing.
With that, I can’t wait for my first e-book to publish this month…I
will let you know more about this soon. Let’s
not let disappointment breed doubt in our hearts. Let’s cling to God’s promises and His
plan for our lives.
I’m thankful for those with courage before me who set an
example for me to follow and breathed fresh hope into my soul. There are many; for today on MLK day we
remember one…but the greatest of these is my friend—and I hope yours too—sweet, loving JESUS!
When disappointment hits, remember whose you are, and who
you are in Christ and have a confident heart.
(Renee Swope)
Let's keep going! Get back on the field of life and keep pursuing God and the lives He has made us for!
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