Dealing with Disappointment

I grew up in a house where my father expected my brother and I to behave like little adults all the time. I am not saying that it was a bad childhood but I am saying that there were a lot of expectations and when they were not met, disappointment and punishments was the response. I have come to realize that I have this same attitude about all the people in my life. If I am disappointed in someone who I have invested time, energy, and effort into the relationship, I have a hard time not showing that disappointment. I have come to recognize that at some point these people will disappoint me. I teach many different people each week. At some point I know that they will do something I do not agree with or is in direct opposition to what I have taught them or know is right for them. In the past I have taken it personal. YOU are disappointing ME. Because of this disappointment, the human response is to withdrawal or react negatively. I understand this. Recently, when I was venting to a confidant of mine, I said something about what my reaction should be, what the appropriate response should be. I was told by my confidant that disappointment is something that can’t be helped. It is then that I realized that it is my reaction that matters. These people are human just as I am. I do not do everything right either. Showing love in disappointing situations to these people might be the best way for them to grasp God’s love of them. We sin. When we sin we disappoint God, yet his love remains. His heart doesn’t ignore us and he still shows us the attention we deserve. The disappointment is still there but his response is to still love us. I have come to realize that as minister, I am to be the ambassador of God to the people under my care: middle school, high school, and college students alike. I am to show them God in my actions and the way to do that is to recognize disappointment but not take it personally. Even when they make a mistake or commit a sin that is exactly what I have been teaching against, the response is to show even more love than normal. I keep messing up, I keep sinning and I expect God to continue showing me love. Why should I not show others exactly how I want God to treat me? I am not saying this is easy, but the first step in fixing something is identifying how it is supposed to be. The difficult task is acting this out. Easy part - done. Hard part – working on it. “Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 (MSG)