Disappointments

Surrounded by farm fields as we are, the pong of fresh manure and slurry assaults our nostrils when we go outside today. The farmer has been busy (and so have the cows!).

The sun is out and it’s a glorious day, but the washing stays hanging in the house for obvious reasons.

I’ve just come in from walking round one of those fields with my neighbours and, at first, their dogs. 

That field has just had a load of dung dumped in a mountain so can be avoided by walkers. But Jake, a wonderful German Shepherd, fancied a snack and much to his owner’s disgust, began munching away.

Well. He was marched home in disgrace, though for a few minutes he bounded playfully after us, unwilling to obey. Oh dear. Another disappointment.

Life is full of disappointments, large and small. Sometimes they hit on days which we assumed would only hold good things for us. On my sixteenth birthday I went to take my driving test. I failed without ever getting out of the parking lot, unable to parallel park without pushing down the pole. On the way home the disappointment turned tragic when my mother told me that she’d had our dog put to sleep that day, too. Sweet sixteen turned sour pretty fast.

But God is with us in the disappointments. Jesus promises never to leave us nor forsake us. He assures us that he has good plans for us, plans which will give us a great future. 

Many things in life can disappoint us. God never does. He may do things differently than we anticipate or desire, but his love and wisdom will produce something even more wonderful than we can imagine. 

That’s what our faith says, and that is what our hope relies on. So if you are feeling disappointed today, take heart and turn your focus on Jesus, who is always with you.