I think disappointment has gotten a bad rap. It’s almost always seen in a negative light, isn’t it? But there are times when the results don’t match the anticipated outcome–the appointment is dissed–and the result is even better than we could have hoped for. Let me give you a few examples.
Doctors said that Kim and I couldn’t have children. They weren’t able to tell us why, even though they poked and probed (yuck) and tested everything they could test. But we knew/believed that God wanted us to have a family. Kim’s lady-doctor came across a possible solution, and Levi was born! A couple of years later, Lilly followed, then Sadie. I wasn’t physically present at the conception of any of my children (biological or adopted!) but they’re all tucked in their beds tonight!
The expert told us that Annabelle wouldn’t want to go with us (15 minutes before we were to meet her!) She said that Annabelle would cry and be scared and distant, and that we’d have to push through it. But when Annabelle walked out, she called us Mommy and Daddy, kissed Kim on the cheek, and lit up the room with her smile!
We were told that Josie was a difficult girl–that she was rough and unloving and belligerent and uncooperative. You can imagine our surprise (and disappointment!) when we found her to be loving, warm, caring, and decidedly pleased to be part of our family.
Our lawyer told us that over 50% of the adoptions like Charlie never happen. Young mothers–even those who are intent on placing their baby with another family–change their minds, choosing to try to raise the baby on their own, leaving hopeful adoptive families to wonder what went wrong. We’ve worked with 2 young ladies who wanted to find adoptive families. Our lawyer, trying to help us protect our hearts, told us not to get our hopes up. In both situations, it looks as though the adoptions are going to take place.
Now, I know that my examples make things seem all rosy and cheerful. I’m not saying that we never face tough times. As followers of Christ, we’re still going to have difficult days. God certainly never promises that we won’t be hurt, face trials, and have roadblocks and wrong turns. We still have teenage hormones running rampant in our house, still have to deal with a fussy baby, still have a dog that pees on the floor submissively.
But I can look back on the times that we were led to believe the worst, to expect a negative situation, only to find a huge blessing. And that’s the kind of disappointment that I can live with.
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