Delights, Disappointments and Defining Moments

Delights come in varying packages for each of us. Those things which brings us comfort, joy, satisfaction or other pleasant emotions qualify as delights. Food often tops the list although specifics vary greatly over regions and textures. Appropriate rewards for our contribution or involvement is personally satisfying for most. The stretching of our imagination by the creativity of others sends joys beyond comprehension coursing through our lives. Resting in those events without worry of interruption by unpleasantness brings our comfort levels to greater heights than we hoped for. The company of wonderfully talented like minded individuals of all ages is near the top of the list as well. All of these “Delights” are often embodied in a visit with the three greatest granddaughters on the earth.

There is a verse in the Bible which says that from a young child you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise unto salvation. I know from even casual observance that this is the truth of their lives. Each of them has been very carefully trained by loving and committed parents to comprehend the knowledge gained therein. Knowing their public profession of receiving a full measure of faith and seeing their personal demonstrations of it bring a more “wonderfabulousmarveling” joy than the English language allows me to convey. Their use of the confidence in the One who has changed their desire and purpose is evident in both successes and failures. Watching them grow under the careful guidance of their Spirit led parents gives but one major regret; I am far too often absent from their day to day experiences. I anxiously seek tidbits of accomplishments to enjoy and rejoice over as much as communications over the distance allows. Did I mention that they are the world’s three greatest granddaughters?

Disappointments are scattered about according to our expectations. We desire for outcomes which at times are unrealistic. We hope and do not achieve. We dream the possibilities which others might deem the impossible dream. In our minds perspective absolutely nothing is unattainable. Dreams are very doable. Doubts and fears are always present. Disappointments happen when possibilities are not realized. We see the potential and then assume it will happen. That assumption deflates our bubble when our fondest wishes do not become reality. Often it is not the circumstances, nor the abilities of those involved but rather unrealistic hopes which determine our level of disappointment. We would like to believe that as intelligent, thinking, Spirit guided individuals, we could be immune from wrongly determining an anticipated outcome.

People and circumstances do not become something special simply because we wish them to be. They are special because we believe them to be so. We acknowledge their uniqueness which declares it. Hopes are the things dreams are made of. If it were possible for everyone to do everything imaginable then special would be common and mundane.

Defining moments are when those very disappointments are turned into delights or any such delights become disappointments. Defining means it is a significant time or event which is a pivotal point around which your existence or thoughts are anchored. A moment can be defined as an infinitesimally small amount of time in which a thought or event is solidified or catalogued for recall. Often it is a matter of perspective and choice which brings us to the place where those moments occur. We are not defined as people by either our failures or disappointments. Rather, these moments are birthed in the very substance of our efforts. We are defined as human, as warm hearted, as His. Others may be clearly cut from another cloth. Although your birth qualifies as one of your parents defining moments, it may not be for you. For some, a first word, a first step, a first taste, that first day of school, have that kind of impact. Others cannot recall much impact beyond last year. Most of us have one or more significant emotional events in our lives which have molded us in various aspects. A few examples are the sinking of the Titanic 1912, the Hindenburg disaster 1937, World War II, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963; Vietnam, Martin Luther King April 4, 1968, Robert Kennedy June 6, 1968, John Lennon December 8, 1980, Challenger Space Shuttle 1986, September 11, 2001. The list is practically inexhaustible. Our lives, our patterns of thinking, our preferences, are all subject to the impact some major events have on us. Mine was in 1979 on MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa Florida. There I surrendered my heart and life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Everything from that moment which is part of my live is defined by that event. It was the singular moment in time when my real life began.

Defining moments do not exist to eliminate disappointments nor squelch delights. Their impact is the delight of our direction. Our resistance to them is the seductive deception of our own might and power being enough to win victories alone. My delights are all in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the victories He allows me to participate in by His grace. My disappointments are when I do not heed His guidance and admonitions. I have never been disappointed in His ways, His word or His wonders. Yet when I, in my own strength, believe I do not need Him, I set myself up to hurt others and achieve misery on a scale I cannot imagine. Recently I had a young man ask me to pray with him to receive Jesus as his savior. There is more delight in that moment and its remembrance then I can express in these few words. I do not want to have my life defined by its disappointments, even though they are necessary tools in building me. I ask that these things are most remembered, that I delighted myself in the things of the Lord and delighted to share them with all who would listen. I was baptized, called into the Gospel Ministry, saw my wife and all my children and grandchildren come to His saving grace. Not by my hand but by His. I am certain of this one thing. He is my daily delight.

This entry was posted in Family, Just a Thought, Singularly Ponderable Thought and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.