Finding Direction in Disappointment

Megan Holloman ponders what we can learn, and gain, from the disappointments we experience in life.

Can you recall your first big disappointment in life? Mine came in the form of a rejection letter from the state university I had placed high on a pedestal, as so many high-school seniors have a tendency to do. At the time, the news was devastating. I was beyond disappointed and ultimately made the decision to enroll in my “back up” school with the determination I would re-apply as a transfer student.

As another school year begins to wind down and college decisions are finalized, I have found myself reflecting back on that first big disappointment and many other significant disappointments that life has a tendency to roll our way. Disappointments come in all shapes and sizes: job loss, broken relationships, financial insecurity, just to name a few. It’s so easy to fall into a pattern of running away from our disappointments or in other cases, allowing them to dominate our lives. But how often do we ask, “What is that God wants us to gain from these losses?”

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways—oracle of the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55: 8-9)

Everything. We have everything to gain from any disappointment in this life because of the glorious, most perfect future God has promised us in the next life with Him. God is not disappointing us, but He is directing us (and often re-directing us!). Disappointment is temporal and recovering from it often involves a long, painful and visceral process. Changing the framework in which we receive disappointment allows God to reveal Himself in a way that requires us to be vulnerable and reliant on Him. God directs, He does not disappoint.

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We have everything to gain from any disappointment in this life because of the glorious, most perfect future God has promised us in the next life with Him. #CatholicMom

What felt like the ultimate rejection for me was really re-direction from God and I now proudly call my “backup” college my alma mater. God is our GPS, but He gives us the freedom to drive. If we fully trust the direction in which He is sending us, we should expect some roadblocks, detours and re-routing along the way. Even the roughest roads are part of His plan for us and though we may stray the course at times, His presence will always guide us in the right direction.

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About the author: Megan Hollomon lives in Richmond, Virginia. She is a full-time mom and part-time nurse, passionate about serving the Lord through her work and home life. In her spare time, Megan enjoys running, volunteering at her children’s school and spending time at her family's home on the Potomac River.