DISAPPOINTMENT

Disappointment is inevitable. It is not a matter of “if” it comes, it is “when” it comes.

Several days before Rex 15th birthday, his dad informs him that they have bought him a car. lmagine the excitement he felt. He went on to say that it was being delivered on the morning of his birthday. He walked around to cloud nine and remember thinking, “Oh man, only rich people get their cars delivered to them; this must be quite the car!”

That morning, he stood in his parents’ driveway waiting for his car to arrive. His heart is pounding against his chest, in his mind he picture a red convertible sports car and can feel the wind blowing through his hair as he take that baby from 4th to 5th gear. He can hear the duel exhaust screaming as he put the accelerator to the floor. He got excited!!

Several minutes later, he notice a tow truck coming down the street and to his amazement the driver pulled into his parent’s drive way. It wasn’t his beautiful red sports car, it wasn’t car at all. He figured the tow truck driver had made a wrong turn and needed directions.

He walked up to the truck and in his most polite tone asked if he could help him. He said is he was looking for-and gave his address. He can only assume that all the blood must’ve drained from his face, because the driver asked if he was okay.

He couldn’t believe it! It wasn’t a red sports car like he had pictured in his mind. Instead, on the back of this tow truck sat a hideous, multi-colored, 1972 Ford Courier pick up truck. “You’ve got to be kidding me, is this some kind of cruel joke?” When he say multi-colored, this truck had approximately 20 different colors on it. This truck had no idea what color it wanted to be. It was used for the paint shop of the auto repair facility where his dad worked and there are no words to describe the ugliness of this truck.

His dad walked out of the house and gave directions where the monster was to be released. Evidently his dad saw the disappointment in his face and told him that they had one year to work on the truck and get it in tip-top shape. He was disgusted!

Through out the next year he would work on his truck every afternoon and every weekend. It took forever to remove all the paints. One year later, after many hours of labor, they hadn’t gotten to the painting stage but at least all the dents were straightened and running. The truck was a beautiful brown primer color. The only way to get a shine on this truck was spray the primer with water and admire it before the water dried.

The moment had finally arrived. With great pride he slid the key in the ignition and to no avail, if didn’t start! Pounding the steering wheel in anger, he remember thinking, “This is NOT happening!”

Finally, his dad and he managed to get it running again and off and he went for his first adventure in his “new” truck. After a quick stop to pick up a good friend, they were out on the town in the brown beast. He drove around for several hours and they started for home. The truck ran for a grand total of 5 hours and left him sitting on the side of the highway. He remember thinking and feeling this has to be the worse birthday in history.

He had learned through experience that there is something to learn from all our disappointment. It is through disappointment that we are strengthened. It is up to us to find the good in every bad situation. Instead of asking “why me?” start asking “what can I learn from this?” In every disappointment there is a lesson to be learned. However, it is up to you to look for the lesson.

No matter how much disappointment comes into your life, look through it and find the positive lessons within. You are a strong willed individual and you have the ability to overcome any and all obstacles that come into your path of life. You can overcome any form of disappointment and can become a stronger, smarter and a more confident person. We have faith in you and your ability to overcome.