Last week in the States it was Halloween. Maybe it was the candy that got me remembering…
One year for Mother’s Day, chocolate truffles seemed to be the gift of choice. Yay! That was my favorite treat! I had already received two chocolate truffle bars, wrapped in shiny, gold foil and had enjoyed them immensely.
My dear mother-in-law, every Mother’s Day, would give gifts to her daughters and daughters-in-law and in her gift that year was a shiny, gold, foil wrapped bar! I was in heaven! Since I had already devoured two, I decided to hide this one away for a future time when I might need the comforting powers of chocolate.
That truffle was in the back of my drawer and mind for quite some time and I enjoyed the quiet anticipation of the future event. Well, the time came for that much needed boost and I happily went to my drawer and pulled out that shiny, gold, foil wrapped bar. Upon opening one end, I was taken aback to see the bar inside was orange and I suddenly got a whiff of a most decidedly non-chocolate smell! That treat that I had been so looking forward to was a bar of soap!
Grateful I had discovered my mistake before taking a healthy bite, I was nevertheless very disappointed! It was a quality bar of soap and one which under other circumstances I would have been happy to receive but at this moment, because my expectation was totally different from what I received, I was very disappointed! I can laugh now, but I did not laugh then.
Has that ever happened to you? Have you planned for, and counted on something that turned out completely different from what you expected? Your first reaction may have been one of disappointment, frustration, even anger.
We all face times when the events we’ve hoped for, longed for, expected to happen do not come about in the way we planned. We struggle with the disappointment and challenge and try to look at it as an opportunity, but boy, that is hard sometimes.
How do we equip and prepare ourselves, to face those unforeseen challenges?
Keith D. Harrell, in his book, Attitude is Everything for Success, Say it, Believe it, Receive it said, “Hold on to faith. Faith is the foundation for the things you hope for. The stronger your faith, the greater the possibility of seeing your desires become a reality.”
“The definition of faith is Trust. Belief. Belief and trust in God. A set of principles or beliefs. Confident belief in the truth; value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
Now, a chocolate bar turning out to be a bar of soap is really not a big deal, but it can lead us to think about how we handle disappointments. I had to learn that beliefs are what determine one’s ability to manage disappointments, great or small.
Instead of getting depressed about the disappointments in life, I’ve learned to rely on my faith. My beliefs keep me from worrying about the outcome of the situation or asking, “why me?”
Trusting that all will be well and having faith will carry you through any situation you are facing.
Here’s to your ability to trust and have faith that all things will work together for your good!
