2020 has been nothing if not a year of emotions. We have run the gamut––from surprise to concern to fear to suspicion, sadness, anger, and now as we have just celebrated our first major holiday of the holiday season, some of us can add one more to that list … disappointment.
For most of us, this Thanksgiving looked very different from Thanksgivings of years past. We either modified our in-person gatherings, virtualized them through Zoom, or jettisoned our plans at the last minute because of unexpected circumstances. Regardless, we all tried to keep a stiff upper lip, take it on the chin, put on a happy face … whatever cliche you want to use … but deep down we were disappointed.
Now many of us are doing the Post-Thanksgiving Monday morning quarterbacking: looking back and seeing if our decisions were warranted or not. If everyone remains healthy, we might add a new emotion … foolishness, then add a touch of anger, and feel we have been duped. If someone within that potential group does get sick, we are concerned for his or her welfare but also grateful the decision prevented others from becoming ill.
But if we prayed about our decision, then made it based on God’s leading, any post analysis is a moot point. Proverbs 3:5 reminds us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” God has His reasons for leading us to the decisions we make, even if we don’t understand what those reasons may be.
As 2020 draws to a close, I am hoping that Thanksgiving might be the only holiday celebration where we experience disappointment, but who knows. Disappointments will always be a part of life. But if we really believe that God is in control, and His love is as unshakable and unfathomable as Romans 8:38-39 states, then we should also be able to say with assurance:
“God’s plans will always be more beautiful and greater than all [our] disappointments.”
For most of us, this Thanksgiving looked very different from Thanksgivings of years past. We either modified our in-person gatherings, virtualized them through Zoom, or jettisoned our plans at the last minute because of unexpected circumstances. Regardless, we all tried to keep a stiff upper lip, take it on the chin, put on a happy face … whatever cliche you want to use … but deep down we were disappointed.
Now many of us are doing the Post-Thanksgiving Monday morning quarterbacking: looking back and seeing if our decisions were warranted or not. If everyone remains healthy, we might add a new emotion … foolishness, then add a touch of anger, and feel we have been duped. If someone within that potential group does get sick, we are concerned for his or her welfare but also grateful the decision prevented others from becoming ill.
But if we prayed about our decision, then made it based on God’s leading, any post analysis is a moot point. Proverbs 3:5 reminds us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” God has His reasons for leading us to the decisions we make, even if we don’t understand what those reasons may be.
As 2020 draws to a close, I am hoping that Thanksgiving might be the only holiday celebration where we experience disappointment, but who knows. Disappointments will always be a part of life. But if we really believe that God is in control, and His love is as unshakable and unfathomable as Romans 8:38-39 states, then we should also be able to say with assurance:
“God’s plans will always be more beautiful and greater than all [our] disappointments.”
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