Disappointment

Written by cycleguy on July 28th, 2014

Disappointment is part and parcel of life. Anyone who has lived any time on this earth knows that. Even young ones know disappointment; they just might not know what to call it.

As an adult I understand disappointment is going to happen. I will admit to sometime even expecting it, so that when it happens, I won’t be too down about it.  But how do you explain it to a 7 1/2 year old?

Last Friday we headed to Ohio because Saturday morning Braden was scheduled to play in an All-star game (coach pitch). If they won the first, they would play the second. If they won both they would play a third. He was stoked! He loves baseball and looked forward to getting out on the field, and if he had a chance, to get dirty. 🙂

What he wasn’t counting on was the weather not cooperating. It was raining early in the morning (I even had to postpone a planned early morning ride), and continued raining past our lunch at Chic-fil-A. While eating we heard all games were cancelled.

And wouldn’t you know it…shortly after that-probably within 10 minutes- it stopped raining and the sun came out. It turned out so nice I actually rode 25 miles later. But it caused a major issue. We had planned on leaving Sunday morning for Pigeon Forge and meeting Tami. The first game was scheduled for 9:00 Sunday morning; the second for 3:00; the third at 5:00. Janna said we could go and she would stay home with Braden but we wanted them to go with us. So Janna talked to Braden and he agreed he would be okay playing the first game and then leaving.

Until…they lost the first game. Then his desire to play kicked in. “We lost this one with me playing. They will probably win the next one.” Disappointment was written all over his face. But he was a trooper and went with the plan.

Wednesday, he rode go-carts (several with his mom) and one by himself. I couldn’t fit in the car. Too tall. Then we played a round of miniature golf. He didn’t handle losing very well so we decided that was enough golfing. He wanted to ride the roller coaster and some of the other rides. About that time the skies opened up and everyone still outside got drenched.

Disappointment happened again. Life just didn’t go according to Braden’s plan.

Yeah…that’s me. I get disappointed as well. At God. At myself. Things don’t quite go as I think they ought to and God is the first to blame. Then I get disappointed in myself for acting like a child.

What it all comes down to is I don’t get my own way. Life is upside down, at least according to my way of thinking. Sometimes I act like a 7 1/2 year old whose whole world changed at the drop of a raindrop.

What about you? How do you handle disappointment?

 

19 Comments so far ↓

  1. Daniel says:

    I have never handled disappointment and not getting my way gracefully. It has been a life-long struggle for me.

    • cycleguy says:

      It is still a struggle with me from time to time Daniel. It is never easy to be disappointed or to get out of the way.

  2. the Old Adam says:

    “How do you handle disappointment?”

    Not all that well. Sometimes really badly. Sometimes a little better.

    I guess I’m what you call a real un-truster of God.

    • cycleguy says:

      I think sometimes our hearts don’t match our words. I say what i know is the right thing to say but not always sure my heart latches on. Thanks Stephen.

  3. Zee says:

    It depends on the general mood… There are times when something doesn’t go according to the plan and I am totally okay with it (even if it was something big). Like when we planned to go to Egypt on our honeymoon and it turned out that my passport was nearing its expiration date… so we went to Carpathian mountains instead.

    But at the same time, there are days when I just am too tired to remain cheerful about another plan change and I just want to crash.

    • cycleguy says:

      I agree Zee. Mood does play a large part in acceptance/non acceptance of events which happen. Hope you are doing well though and Sam recovering from his surgery. 🙂

      • Zee says:

        Sam’s doing great, the only thing that’s bothering him is that he has to wear the cast for one more month. Considering it’s summer right now, that means no swimming and trouble with taking a shower. But we’ll get through that together.

        • cycleguy says:

          Yeah wearing a cast in the summer would be a bummer. Fortunately, my surgeries have been in the winter months. 🙂 All you have to do is wait on him hand and foot. 🙂

  4. floyd says:

    I’ve been known to throw fits like a little kid when I get disappointed. I try not to, but it’s our fallen nature. It does take some realistic thinking on our half to look for the gain in the disappointments of life. We’re all in the same boat on this one, Bill. At least you fit in to that!

  5. linda says:

    I wish I could say I handle it or hide it well but some people know me to we’ll and can tell when I’m trying to hide. I try to put on a cheery face and make positive comments until I can be alone but sadly I do blame others including God a lot.

    • cycleguy says:

      Those who know us best also know when we are trying to hide things. They know our hearts and can tell when life has us in its grip. Just remember you are loved. As for blaming God? You are not alone.

  6. Kari Scare says:

    Disappointment? Yes. In myself. In others. Too much these days. I am learning to love even when I don’t like or trust. That’s hard to do, yet it’s Scriptural. Love is a choice and an action, not a feeling. Applies to loving myself too.

  7. I pitched a fit over disappointment in 2011. A bona fide fit.

  8. David says:

    I’m kind of with Zee on this one, mood has a definite affect on how I respond to disappointment. We’re going through a “rough patch” season right now and as one thing piles atop another the ability to stave off a negative reaction to something disappointing becomes more difficult. Kind of like the proverbial too many straws breaking the camel’s back.

    But still we press on trying to be thankful that God’s grace is sufficient even through my ranting and raving …

    • cycleguy says:

      I can understand that David. As time moves on and the trial doesn’t lessen it does get harder to stay positive. Glad to hear you are keep pressing on.

  9. Dan Black says:

    My disappointment often turns into quite anger (I bottle it up) until I’m able to release it to God. Good post!