A World of Pie: Getting Past Disappointment
I love pie. All kind of pies: blueberry, chocolate pecan, peach, apple, blueberry and lemon meringue. I could go on and on.
I remember Nana my grandmother making lemon meringue pies. She didn’t buy the frozen crust from the grocery store. She would make a homemade crust. I remember her taking the fork and pressing down the pie dough along the edge of the pan. She would whip the meringue and then the pie was ready to bake. I can see her taking the hot pie out of the oven with a big smile on her face. She was proud of her meringue standing up high with tips of golden brown.
Then there were the other times she would pull the pie out of the oven and the meringue would fall and so would Nana’s face. She was so disappointed. Do you think I cared about the height of the meringue when I was nine years old? Of course not! Her pies were delicious either way.
Disappointments happen. You can try to avoid them but you can’t escape them. My grandmother did her best and the meringue fell.
Disappointments come in all shapes and sizes. You can be disappointed in yourself, a situation or someone close to you.
You’re disappointed that…
- You didn’t get the promotion
- Your daughter lied to you
- Your husband forgot your birthday
- Your close friend stops calling you
- You were dismissed by someone at church
- Your daughter didn’t make the team
Disappointments hurt because they go straight to the heart and can knock the wind out of you. If you are not intentional, disappointments can ruin a dinner or a relationship. You can get stuck in disappointment for days or a couple of decades. The disappointment will play in your head like a broken record over and over again.
The goal is to move quickly through the disappointment. Even though you will be disappointed you don’t have to stay disappointed. You have a choice.
Don’t let your disappointment steal from you. My sweet Nana was robbed of enjoying a delicious dinner with a family who loved her because she was disappointed in her fallen meringue. Yes she ate dinner with us, but inwardly she was churning which caused her to missed the blessings.
How do you get past disappointment?
Disappointments affect your whole perspective. All of life seems to get reduced to this one disappointment. But there is so much more. There is a universe of opportunities and blessings on the other side of disappointment.
There is a world of pie.
Imagine you go over to your friends’ dinner party. For dessert they have many different types of pie including your favorite apple pie. You are looking forward to eating this hot piece of apple pie. Right when you pick up the serving knife, Cathy who is in front of you snatches the last piece of apple pie. You can’t believe it. You are irritated and disappointed because there is no more apple pie.
But you have a choice. Before you is chocolate pecan, peach, blueberry, lemon meringue, banana and cherry pie. You can either escalate your feelings of disappointment by analyzing how selfish Cathy is or you can try another pie.
When we are attached to our disappointments we miss out on the abundance. There is a world of pie. If the apple pie is gone try another pie. You might even like it more. It doesn’t mean you will never have apple pie again. But now you can eat apple pie and chocolate pecan, peach, blueberry, lemon meringue, banana and cherry pie. There is a world of pie.
Disappointment is an opportunity to expand your life.
Let go of the disappointment so you can make room for new positive experiences.
- If you didn’t get the promotion it can motivate you to start your own business.
- Your daughter lied to you. She is given a consequence and has an opportunity to build your trust again. You use it as a teaching opportunity. You are glad you can address it now since she is still under your roof. Next year she will be away at college.
- Your husband forgot your birthday. Instead of obsessing about how he doesn’t love you and takes you for granted, WORK IT GIRL. Tell him that’s ok, “Why don’t you take me to Napa next month for my birthday?”
- Your close friend stops calling you. There are lots of choices here. Call her, instead of obsessing why she isn’t calling you. Or you can call another friend and ask her to lunch. Remember there’s a lot of ‘pie’ out there.
- You were dismissed by someone at church. Instead of complaining to everyone about this rude person, try to meet with them and work through it. If they don’t respond you can serve in another department, change Sunday school classes or try another church.
- Your daughter didn’t make the team. Your daughter is going to have her own feelings of disappointment and she doesn’t need your disappointment on top of that. The greatest gift you can give her is to believe in her and have the confidence that something better is waiting for her.
Remember there’s an opportunity on the other side of disappointment. Don’t miss it.
What disappointment are you willing to let go of today?