I'm done being disappointed.
There, I said it.
One definition of disappointment is: "the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one's hopes or expectations."
Sadness.
Displeasure.
Nonfulfillment.
I've had sleepovers with these three more often than I would care to recount.
'...one's hopes or expectations.'
I think therein lies the real issue.
Where do I place my hope?
And what do I expect in any given situation, from any relationship, from myself?
Disappointment is a real destination. There's no debate about that.
But my pattern has been to set my watch, my calendar, my thoughts, my attitude, maybe even my GPS to the melancholy metronome of disappointment.
It's not that I'm not qualified to be disappointed.
I've got a laundry list longer than some of reasons why I should wear the Dismally Disappointed jersey...
Divorce
Disease
Rejection
Awful Choices
Awful Consequences
Pain
Lots of Pain....
And wear it I did, for a LONG time... far too long.
Number 75, that's me.
40 years of reasons to dwell in disappointment.
But I'm not gonna do it anymore.
The prefix "dis" means, 'to utterly reverse, to negate'.
And the word "appoint" is defined as, 'to name or assign to a position'.
Who or What have I allowed to utterly negate my position?
What is my position anyway?
As a follower of Jesus I am positionally loved, positionally clean, positionally forgiven, redeemed, restored....
Positionally hopeful in things that never change.
Like Heaven
Like Hope
Like Jesus' outstretched hand that never shrinks back regardless of my circumstance.
New Question:
Who or What can utterly negate my position?
The only right response is this:
No one
and
Nothing.
If I have been appointed by God Himself, who never changes, then there is nothing and no one who can change his decision.
Period.
Now back to Disappointment being a real destination.
Our definition said that disappointment is a 'feeling' that involves sadness or displeasure.
I agree.
Disappointment is most certainly a feeling.
And feelings are real to be sure.
But what I have found is that feelings are good at taking direction.
Taking direction from our choices and focus.
I spent a lot of years making choices based on my feelings only to find myself in a constant merry-go-round of nauseating consequences for myself and everyone around me.
But one day while in a deep valley of illness I had the realization that my choices dictated my feelings. Making choices based on my feelings was like trying to keep catching the same soap bubble I had blown and recycling it endlessly... they just aren't made to work that way.
And neither are we.
It works like this:
Our beliefs dictate our thoughts.
Our thoughts dictate our attitudes.
Our attitudes dictate our choices.
Our choices dictate our feelings.
Our feelings dictate our behavior.
And our behavior dictates our circumstances.
Whew.
Feelings come in on the list WAY down the line, which is really good news.
It means that we have a lot we can do about what kind of feelings we have and how much they affect us.
This is AWESOME news for me.
My feelings had been such a horrid slave driver because they had been allowed to be out of the order of command.
Like a young dog in a pack that suddenly finds himself the Alpha Male... He doesn't have what it takes to really do the job well.
Neither do my feelings.
Disappointment wasn't meant to be at the helm.
My beliefs are.
Better yet, Who I place my belief in is...
Captain Jesus.
So away with you Disappointment!!
I am only temporarily REappointed at best...
Appointed to pray, to love, to hope in the One who has appointed me in the first place.
Denouncing Disappointment....
Join me?
There, I said it.
One definition of disappointment is: "the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one's hopes or expectations."
Sadness.
Displeasure.
Nonfulfillment.
I've had sleepovers with these three more often than I would care to recount.
'...one's hopes or expectations.'
I think therein lies the real issue.
Where do I place my hope?
And what do I expect in any given situation, from any relationship, from myself?
Disappointment is a real destination. There's no debate about that.
But my pattern has been to set my watch, my calendar, my thoughts, my attitude, maybe even my GPS to the melancholy metronome of disappointment.
It's not that I'm not qualified to be disappointed.
I've got a laundry list longer than some of reasons why I should wear the Dismally Disappointed jersey...
Divorce
Disease
Rejection
Awful Choices
Awful Consequences
Pain
Lots of Pain....
And wear it I did, for a LONG time... far too long.
Number 75, that's me.
40 years of reasons to dwell in disappointment.
But I'm not gonna do it anymore.
The prefix "dis" means, 'to utterly reverse, to negate'.
And the word "appoint" is defined as, 'to name or assign to a position'.
Who or What have I allowed to utterly negate my position?
What is my position anyway?
As a follower of Jesus I am positionally loved, positionally clean, positionally forgiven, redeemed, restored....
Positionally hopeful in things that never change.
Like Heaven
Like Hope
Like Jesus' outstretched hand that never shrinks back regardless of my circumstance.
New Question:
Who or What can utterly negate my position?
The only right response is this:
No one
and
Nothing.
If I have been appointed by God Himself, who never changes, then there is nothing and no one who can change his decision.
Period.
Now back to Disappointment being a real destination.
Our definition said that disappointment is a 'feeling' that involves sadness or displeasure.
I agree.
Disappointment is most certainly a feeling.
And feelings are real to be sure.
But what I have found is that feelings are good at taking direction.
Taking direction from our choices and focus.
I spent a lot of years making choices based on my feelings only to find myself in a constant merry-go-round of nauseating consequences for myself and everyone around me.
But one day while in a deep valley of illness I had the realization that my choices dictated my feelings. Making choices based on my feelings was like trying to keep catching the same soap bubble I had blown and recycling it endlessly... they just aren't made to work that way.
And neither are we.
It works like this:
Our beliefs dictate our thoughts.
Our thoughts dictate our attitudes.
Our attitudes dictate our choices.
Our choices dictate our feelings.
Our feelings dictate our behavior.
And our behavior dictates our circumstances.
Whew.
Feelings come in on the list WAY down the line, which is really good news.
It means that we have a lot we can do about what kind of feelings we have and how much they affect us.
This is AWESOME news for me.
My feelings had been such a horrid slave driver because they had been allowed to be out of the order of command.
Like a young dog in a pack that suddenly finds himself the Alpha Male... He doesn't have what it takes to really do the job well.
Neither do my feelings.
Disappointment wasn't meant to be at the helm.
My beliefs are.
Better yet, Who I place my belief in is...
Captain Jesus.
So away with you Disappointment!!
I am only temporarily REappointed at best...
Appointed to pray, to love, to hope in the One who has appointed me in the first place.
Denouncing Disappointment....
Join me?
