Disappointment.

Well, the title sounds a little debbie downer-ish, but I'm not here to be a debbie. The only little debbie I like is the kind you eat.  I'm not a fan of other debbies.

Disappointment is an intriguing feeling and I've thought about it today.

I read once that "disappointment can be cured by revamped expectations."  I think this can sound harsh, but if you apply it to a situation it makes sense.  Think of what disappointment brings about.  Frustration. Stress. Tears. Pain... and in situations of great cost, intense suffering. I'm disappointed when I expect someone to do a) or b) for me.  I'm disappointed when I want someone to act/work/live a certain way. I'm disappointed when someone doesn't live up to the expectations I have for them in my mind...

And see, at least in some cases, I think we expect too much.  We expect without ever telling the other person what it is that we expect... and well, then our expectations are set too high.  All to say, maybe disappointment is cured by revamped expectations.  In some sense, I control how disappointed I am with a certain outcome.

I think about this a lot in personal relationships with people. What do I expect of my mom, my best friend, my significant other?  Is it realistic or is it just what I want?  Is it just how I think a mom,  a best friend or a significant other should act or did they really let me down? When I am let down or disappointed by one of these people, is it because I expected something different? ...

What I've come to understand through these situations is that God is the only person that will never disappoint us.  Never let us down.  Never give up.  Never respond in a way that isn't out of love.

Just think of these verses in Romans 5:3-5, "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Suffering, that which comes by being disappointed, is met with rejoicing.  Why? Because we find joy in the only thing that never disappoints: GOD.  He who has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Or, in other words gently spoken to me by a friend, "Love is patient... and He's always up to something beautiful."