Have you ever felt like you were on a roller coaster ride full of disappointments? I have and still do, and trust me it is anything but fun. Now don’t get me wrong, I love roller coasters but the roller coaster of disappointment is not the same thing as the amusement park roller coaster.
The roller coasters at the fair and amusement parks are filled with laughter, joy, and sometimes nausea depending on how well you handle speed and heights. But the roller coaster of disappointment is filled with anger, frustration, and sadness, which eventually can turn into depression.
Disappointments are a part of life
As a kid, my biggest disappointments were based on not getting the toy that I wanted or not being able to go to the park because it was raining outside. But now my disappointments are based on expectations that I had of certain people, or having a plan and not being able to fulfill it because things didn’t work out, financial, relationships, etc… The older that I get and the more that I experience, I feel the more disappointments I face.
I can’t tell you how many of these disappointments have come from liking guys…A LOT! And it doesn’t help that I have never really had an official boyfriend or have ever been on a date. But it’s true and I know there are a lot of times where you may want to get angry at God and yell out WHY ME!?! Well, that’s exactly how I have felt, even writing this right now I feel like doing that. But as much as it sucks, disappointments are a part of life. Now I’m not writing this to make anyone mad or frustrated but I want to share my journey on how I have been dealing with disappointments and how to get off that long ride of disappointments.
How to deal with disappointments
Before I get into these tips, I will be honest and say something that I have always told myself and others when facing a problem or a disappointment: distract yourself with something you enjoy. And although it is ok to do that sometimes, I have to remember that distracting myself might help for a second but it doesn’t last. And I can’t continue to distract myself with something every time I get disappointed by something or someone, because if I used a distraction for every time I was disappointed then I wouldn’t be able to face reality. I learned that talking to God and leaning on Him is the best thing I can do when facing disappointments. Which brings us to the first tip…
- Going to God– Now when I face a disappointment, one of the first things I do is talk to God. In the past year I have been really spiritually growing, I mean I have been saved since I was six years old but spiritually I was not where I am today. But I also have to be careful when I go to God when facing a disappointment, especially when it’s something that I really wanted because sometimes we can talk to God as if He is a genie and He is definitely not that. I use to do that all the time in middle and high school. I would only really talk to Him when I really wanted something and when I didn’t get what I asked for I became upset. But now when I talk to Him I make sure I thank Him for everything He has done for me so far and everything He is going to do for me, even though I do not know what that is. I talk to Him about my disappointments and how I feel even though He already knows, it still helps to get that off my chest.
- Make time for worship– Something that has really helped me is when I sat down and made time for God. Now I’m not saying have an entire church service, even though if you want to GO FOR IT! But take the time to read the word, get your worship playlist out, and pray. That is exactly what I do. I also have this great devotional journal that my mom got for me and it is awesome. I promise most of the time I open up the lesson, it immediately speaks to me. But making time for worship can bring this sense of peace and comfort. And it is also a great intimate time with God.
- Surrounding yourself with positive people– This tip has been very important in my life. I wouldn’t say I had bad friends in middle and high school. But spiritually they were not where they needed to be in order for me to follow. All of the positive people in my life are all on a high spiritual level. That helps more than you know because God speaks through those who listens and follows Him. And a lot of stuff that has been spoken to me has really helped. These people also will not criticize or judge you. But they will listen and encourage you.
- Realizing that God’s plan is bigger than yours– I know it can be hard to understand when things don’t turn out the way you plan. But I have had a bunch of life lessons to know that when you trust in God and you let Him do what He wants to do, His plan is way better than ours. Just writing that sentence gets me excited, because in the past year I have had some downs but not too far away were the ups.
Bigger than I thought
One of my favorite worship songs right now is “Bigger than I Thought”, sung by the Passion Worship Band. The whole song is amazing, from the beginning to the end but the chorus is when I really get emotional every time. So I will end with this beautiful chorus to the song,
“Bigger Than I Thought” So I throw all my cares before you, My doubts and fears don’t scare you You’re bigger than I thought you were, you’re bigger than I thought. So I’ll stop all negotiations, With the God of all creations You’re bigger than I thought you were you, you’re bigger than I thought you were
Passion Worship Band
Read also: When your mind takes its own way
