K.D. McCrite writes touching, sometimes funny stories that portray ordinary people living lives from the depths of their extraordinary souls. She has three novels listed under Kathaleen Burr: Home is the Heart, Wintersong, and Rainbow Dreams. Ozarks Farmer, Country Preacher: the Life of Paul Wesley Buchanan under Kathaleen McCrite Deiser. Her “Confessions of April Grace” Series is a hilarious series for mid-grade 'tweens. The titles include In Front of God and Everybody, Cliques, Hicks, and Ugly Sticks, and Chocolate-Covered Baloney. Cozy mysteries include: The Deed in the Attic, The Unfinished Sonata, A Stony Point Christmas, The Ring in the Attic, Raven Threads, Unraveled Stalkings, (the latter to be released in late 2014). She has recently signed a 5-book contract with Deer Hawk Publishing for her "Eastgate Mysteries' series. |
K. D. McCriteDisappointment: Grace in Disguise |
Disappointment.
A common word we say and feel often. It’s so common, in fact, that we are frustrated if the barista made our cappuccino with too little foam. Or if our favorite paper towels are out of stock. Or if the teacher gave us a “B-” instead of that “A” we expected.
Face it: Disappointment abounds. It is a part of life. So why does something so familiar sour our days?
If we Google disappointment, we see this as the first definition: “the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one's hopes or expectations.” Argh! So bleak, especially considering what we allow to disappoint us.
Maybe we need to reexamine our level
of hope and expectation. Surely, we should gauge our reaction to these
situations.
• If our brand of paper towel isn’t on the shelf, let’s try a new one. We’ll probably like it better anyway.
• We really need to realize that teachers don’t “give grades.” Students earn grades. If we’re a student, we should find out what we can do to learn more and receive higher marks.
For sure, let us all stop moping and complaining about such petty annoyances. If we don’t, our friends will begin to avoid us (if they haven’t already).
But what if our disappointments are on a higher level? What if the deal falls through on our dream house? What if our college freshman daughter comes home with an unexpected new husband? What if the book that took us four years to write is rejected by a publisher? What if we can’t afford a new car, even though the one we drive is twelve years old and on its last cylinder?
It’s hard to find grace in these
situations but it’s there, if we open our heart and mind to it.
• Our daughter comes home, newly married to a stranger. And we had so hoped she’d become a doctor, or a lawyer, or an investment banker, or a minister, or any number of other expectations we’d constructed on her behalf. In this case, we need to realize our daughter is an adult with her own life to live and her own path to follow. In a few years, we’ll need to remind ourselves that, without the son-in-law who so disappointed us at first meeting, we wouldn’t have those wonderful sweet grandchildren whom we adore.
• So we spent four years writing a book? Obviously it still needs work; otherwise, the publisher would have snapped it up. We don’t want something less than our very best to go into the hands of the reading public, do we? Of course not. One poorly written book with our name on the spine assures us that a reader won’t read a second one. A few years from now, when we become a successful author, we’ll look at that manuscript and thank God the publisher turned it down. Now we’re experienced enough to see the flaws and to fix them.
• That new car? Yes, it’s shiny and flashy and it smells wonderful. But in a few months, after just a bit of the new has driven off, it will still be shiny and flashy and the new car fragrance will linger…but the price will be reduced by several thousand dollars. We’ll be glad we waited. And think of the great stories we can tell about that old clunker we drove for twelve years. We’ll miss that good ol’ car. They don’t make ’em like that anymore.
In all things, when disappointment rears its head, rather than reacting with annoyance, sour expressions, and a woe-is-me attitude, we need to put the situation in perspective. Realize this is a moment of grace in disguise. Let us look through new eyes at everything that surrounds us. Let’s adjust our thinking. Disappointment can go take a hike because it has no place in our lives.
God is a God of grace, and grace is a second chance. Every single day.
