Disappointments

They come in all shapes and sizes, don't they?
Some are small, like the restaurant being out of shrimp, when that's what you came for in the first place...or those gorgeous shoes not fitting, even though you have tried every size...they just won't work after all.
Then there are the bigger ones, like when our weekend vacation got cancelled due to an unexpected business obligation or when our darling granddaughter was supposed to come to visit and was unable to make it.
These are all overcomable...not the end of the world...Small hills in the rollercoaster of life...just not what you were expecting. They are unsettling in some way....like taking a big drink of iced tea only to find your glass filled with soda instead....yuck! ...though I love em both... :)

Then there are the larger disappointments that invariably come our way....losing that great promotion, finding out you aren't pregnant after all, the house you wanted selling before you could place a bid....disappointing but still managable...
And of course there are the Colossal ones.....the ones that hang you up by your heels and drop you into darkness like you've never known...whirling to the very edge of disaster emotionally, mentally, financially or all of the above.
The heartbreak of a failed marriage, a child who determines to go their own way when you and eveyone around them can see that destruction lies ahead,..... failure to make it in your career of choice...like not passing the barr after all those years of law school....
never seeing your particular dream come true....
The kind of disappointments that seem to much to bear.

Yet even in the darkness or when everything seems to be spinning out of control so much of life can change at a moments notice...turn on a dime...just as with a wild and crazy rollercaoster ride...there are dips and turns and sharp curves. With hardly any notice at all you may be standing on your head screaming at the top of your lungs, plunged into blackness, or on top of the world.
Yes, the top of the world is also an option with rollercoaster rides...though in keeping with rollercoasters, they don't seem to last long, do they?

Things can change just that dramatically...from devastation to rejoicing, blackness can turn around to dazzling light and what is perceived as tragedy may become victory.... how we handle those crazy, unexpected, scary moments may well define our lives....

Can disappointment bring out the best in us? Can it cause us to see who we really are, encourage us to make changes, see what we can actually do and who we have hope to become?
I suppose this is along the same lines as the post about grace and peace ....But be sure, what ever is in us will come out when the rollercoaster of life slings us around...be it good or bad.....
This is when, as the saying goes, "the rubber meets the road"...the times when true character is defined...
What you have inside, what your life is made of,... is clarified, solidified, and usually made terribly public.... the places in the ride that you cannot hide....they are huge like Six Flags' Goliath and can be seen for miles...you cannot smile and pretend everything is fine...we all know better...

As a fellow blogger said to me..."at least its not a merry go round".....and right she is...where would be the fun in that?

On this wild ride called life, how will you hang on?.... what will you hold to?
May goodness and grace, character and common sense, and above all a sense of adventure come flying out of you as you ride this rollercaster called life, with all its ups and downs.... and hang on.....
Hang on to Jesus Christ ....He's never been thrown for a loop yet. :)