One of the spiritual skills we need to practice is how
to deal with disappointment. Prayer is
not a vending machine. We sometimes do
not get what we request. Life can
constantly surprise us, and not always in a good way. Someone else got the job we wanted. Our bright idea was passed over by the very
program we helped create. It is not easy
to come in last. Disappointment is the
price of admission for trying, and it often teaches us more than success. Wisdom is the value of trying again, and it
offers us more than we first wanted or ever expected. Steven
Charleston
As you read the quote above slowly, what springs off
the screen immediately? Sit with the
first thing you noticed when you read the words. Now sit with your reaction and response. Let grace be part of the conversation. If you disagree with the quote, ask,
“Why”? If you agree, still ask,
“Why”? If you are indifferent, what
might that be about?
Re-read the quote slowly. This time, allow the wisdom to resonate with your
life. When have you treated prayer like
a vending machine, that if you just get the words right to God, it would be
like feeding a wrinkled dollar bill into the vending machine slot? When have you been surprised by your
life? Notice, I didn’t ask about being
surprised by the news or your social media feed, but consider when you were surprised
by your one wild and precious life this week?
When did disappointment pay an unwelcome and uninvited visit to your
life? Hold these sharp, jagged edges of
your beautiful life. Is there any wisdom
you can now see reflecting like a rainbow through the shards where you once
only saw brokenness?
Re-read the quote again, letting your mind, heart, and
soul marinate in the message without having to respond or react or do anything
other than sit quietly with these words.
This is the chance to turn off your brain for a few moments to be with
the words.
Re-read a fourth time, considering how disappointment might
be a teacher? I know that I don’t want
to enroll in Failure 101 as part of the curriculum of my life. And because I resist this class, it continues
to persist. Because I sit in the back of
Failure 101, doodling in my notebook, not paying attention to the teacher. Because of this, I have to keep repeating
remedial classes in Failure/Disappointment/Welcome to the Human Race 101. How might what Bishop Charleston is saying to
us be the balm to heal your wounded, aching soul today? May these words settle and sing to our souls
individually and collectively in these days.
Amen.
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