Cover of Time Magazine, August 18, 1980
My dear mother gave birth to me to me only a few weeks after Christmas in the middle of the Carter administration. And I’m the type of person who really, really enjoys getting gifts. These two ingredients mixed themselves into a toxic brew of the most disappointing kind, because, for most of my childhood, friends and relatives would give me only one (1) present – to cover two holidays – sometime during the first week of January. They’d accompany the present with a pacifying sentiment like “I hope you enjoy this Christmas/birthday gift!” But Christmas had already come and gone without any word from such interested parties. The day of my birth likewise came and went without fanfare. From the beginning, my life was designed to disappoint.
“Gift” by asenat29 (2006), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution License
Disappointment saturates our fallen existence. Some disappointments are relatively minor, like having your birthday forgotten or discovering concert tickets are sold out. Other disappointments, like receiving a notification of divorce, suffering a debilitating accident, or losing a child, might plague us for decades. Whatever the situation, God the Father is always present, using our disappointment to draw us closer to him. The way of wisdom leads through disappointment and on toward the Lord.
To help us on our way through disappointment, the next few Proverbs posts will examine three things:
How do you usually handle disappointment? How do you think wisdom could help?
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