Dealing with Disappointments

4 posted on August 4, 2008

POSTED IN: Authenticity, Family

I’m not sure why but disappointments and unmet expectations (and how I deal with them) seem to be the theme God has been weaving into the story of my life lately.

Drove to the Movies. Couldn’t Drive Back.
On Thursday of last week Chloe and I went on a ‘daddy-daughter date’ to see Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3D. Because she wanted to see it in 3D we drove 30 minutes to see it at the only theater on the north side of Indy that was showing it.

After the movie we were driving back when I heard a noise that didn’t sound good in the car immediately followed by my battery light coming on, power steering going out and my engine overheating. It was hot. We were tired. Lots of walking.

We had to call a taxi since we’re down to one car. Not cheap for a 30-minute drive across town at 9:30. Chloe was exhausted and I wasn’t happy when I heard $500 of work needed to be done to get my wheels back on the road. Disappointing night for sure.

Babysitter Backs Out
But at least I had my concert on Friday to look forward to!

I had been anticipating a great concert and a night out with Lisa for weeks. The day before the concert our only babysitter that we know here backed out on us leaving us scrambling for other options.

During this process there were some, uh, very animated discussions between Lisa and I about the standards for choosing a babysitter at the last minute (nothing like disappointments to bring out the worst in you).

Finally at the 11th hour Lisa founds someone! Hallelujah! We rushed to get ready, excited that our much anticipated concert and night out was going to happen after all. All we needed to do now was wait for a phone-call back to confirm. We waited. And waited. After leaving multiple voicemails it was clear that our second baby sitter in 48 hours had backed out on us which meant no date and no concert. I said some very not nice words.

Ice Cream Makes It Feel Better
We decided to make the best of a really crappy night and take the kids out for burgers and ice cream. So there we were at Bub’s sitting outside dressed for a night out on the town (a funny site I’m sure).

While we were out Lisa and I talked about the “Dealing with Disappointments 101″ class we’ve been in for the past 6 months. For some reason God has had us in a season of our lives where we’re learning to trust Him more and rely less on our own plans for how things are going to work out (isn’t there a verse about that?).

Just when I think I’m finally getting the hang of it I get smacked in the face with another letdown and I realize I’m not quite there yet. That’s the great thing about being in God’s ‘School of Character Development.” He never fails you when you don’t pass a class. You just get to keep taking it over and over until you finally get it!

Here’s hoping we graduate soon.

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 4th, 2008 at 8:24 am and is filed under Authenticity, Family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

16 Comments

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1 brandiandboys said:

we’ve had weekends like that too! keep your chin up and i’m praying God send you some more reliable babysitters!

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2 Adam said:

Brad, Sorry to hear you weekend didnt go as planned. Like Brandi we have had our fair shire of those. Sometimes more than we really like.
It does really make you learn to rely on Christ more. Even though life throws some curve balls we just try and continue to focus on Him and hold fast to His Promises.

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3 Nick said:

Man, I am sorry to hear about your weekend!

But don’t fret, just believe me on this one, there was a deadly virus outbreak at the concert and many people are either deathly ill or they sadly didn’t make it! It was some bio-terrorism thing like on 24, I am just thankful God kept you and your wife away from the horror. What a great testimony this story will make in the future

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4 Mandy said:

We had this happen a few weeks ago. We had made reservations at Ruth’s Chris w/ some of hubs’ clients…babysitter no show.

Then we had pre-bought movie tickets & same babysitter was a no show.

Guess we won’t be calling her anymore huh?

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5 Israel said:

Brad-

As a guy that has been in that same season of life for about the last 9-12 months (maybe even longer) I know the frustration, anger, and resentment that can begin to infiltrate your heart. A couple of weeks some things happened and I looked at my wife and said I can’t take one more thing.

Long story short, my mom told us maybe you think you can’t take one more thing, but maybe God knows you can handle a ton more by relying on him and not you.

God had already begun to speak to me in the same manner.

It is so easy to give God the glory and honor when things are going the way we want them to go. However, even when they don’t God deserves to be honored and glorified.

In looking over the last year I can honestly say that he has more than provided for me and my family even through all the frustrations and set backs. All the things that I got anxious and worried about he resolved and provided for in his own mighty and sometimes peculiar way.

Hang in there. I am sure there are some lessons you are learning that you will need to rely on in the years to come.

Israel

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6 tam said:

i hate to rub it in. but my kids are finally at an age where they dont need sitters. although, when we’re out late at night i like to have someone here at the house with them (for my own peace of mind) but i remember no-shows a lot. i suggest offering an incentive. tell them if they make it on time…you’ll add 10 bucks to their pay

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7 Stephanie said:

I am so sorry to hear that your weekend was a bust. I know how frustrating it can be when everything seems to be falling apart around you. I know that God won’t ever give me more than I can take, but sometimes I think He has a lot more faith in me than I do! You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers daily. I hope that this week is better than the last!

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8 Lisa @ put-it-on-the-list said:

Interesting thing about a season of disappointments… you SO appreciate a season of blessing that follows.

Humans are so funny. And yes, I speak from experience (four years of both hubby and I being mostly unemployed). That’s a tough time of learning to lean into God and trust Him for a lot. I was recently unemployed for seven months, which felt like a refresher course but was NOTHING compared to the original.

Give thanks for trials of all kinds, blah blah, perseverance. Paul somebody, blah blah. Nobody likes that passage, but it’s so true, even if it doesn’t feel that way when it’s your fanny in the flames.

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9 Nick said:

Dude, I was seriously depressed after your reading your twitters about all that happened to you guys this weekend. I felt to so bad about it. If you and Lisa are ever in AZ and looking to go on a date, my wife will watch your kids for you. Mark it down.

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10 Kelli said:

I can definitely understand where you’re coming from. My husband and I have experienced lots of disappointments i the last year. Lately, I’ve been laughing at them. They seem to be letting up a little. : )
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11 patrowland said:

hang in there, you’ll graduate soon!

Pat Rowland, class of ‘08

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12 Abbey said:

I feel your pain on the car issue…I just spent $500 on mine.
Forgive the redundancy, but hang in there! You’ll be coming through this sooner than you think. And don’t forget the difference between joy and happiness (i just learned this recently myself–talk about a wow moment): happiness depends on circumstances. Joy, not so much.

I hope your week starts going better!
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13 nate said:

What a real post…
I know what it’s like to not go ages without seeing your wife apart from your kids…but, if it’s any consolation, your kids will remember the cheap burger and ice cream more than the concert.
Probably not much of a consolation (as I sit hear griping and moaning that I have forgotten what an adult conversation sounds/feels like) but I am sure your babies love you and your wife extra special tonight.
peace!
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14 Mike Paschal said:

I lost my clutch earlier this year out of no where and cost me $800 bucks. Thanks to my parents for spotting me $400 got me through that.

Then last month I turned down FREE Dave Matthews Band tickets (have not missed a show since 2001) to plan for our wedding with Kir. Then only being able to sit down with her for one hour.

Great post bro. Helping me through this very expensive time of getting married!

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15 Lindsay said:

A bad weekend is a bad weekend and a bad movie is just that 2. In terms of dissapointemnt and movies I went to see I am Legend only to realize that its a Zombie movie….

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16 Leah said:

You know you could move to Texas….I babysit for free and I;m the best babysitter on the planet….hahaha…..love you guys….sorry about the disappointments…..two words….Dallas, Texas!!!