Disappointments can be fixed …

This tweet on Twitter yesterday caught my attention:

“Studying the art of keeping in my feelings, as to not get let down. Again.”

Those words drip with the pain of disappointment. My heart went out to this person, I’d been in his shoes before.

All of us have known disappointment from people, some who we love dearly and others we’re barely acquainted with. But whatever the relationship, when they let us down we felt the sting of disappointment.

Considering the fact there’s not a perfect human being on this planet, it’s important for us to remember that given the opportunity to know someone long enough, at some point they will do something that could be disappointing. They’re imperfect! And so are we; we’ve had our moments of disappointing others.

Fortunately, disappointments can be fixed.

You’ve likely seen some of the incredible images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. From the far reaches of space, we’re able to get a view of some of God’s breathtaking creations with the photos taken by this telescope. But do you remember in the beginning of the Hubble project, this telepscope wasn’t the amazing machine it is today?

After lots of excitement, the telescope was launched several years ago and the first images we received back were blurry. It was discovered there was a flaw in the mirror.

It was a terrible disappointment!

The problem with the mirror was later corrected, but at the time there was a joke making the rounds that said the only thing NASA learned from the Hubble Telescope was to never name a project something that rhymed with “trouble.” It was a huge embarrassment then, but not anymore. Today, our capacity to see the beauty of God’s creation in a unique and awe-inspiring way is broadened by the images retrieved from this telescope, which is a great success.

Human disappointments can be fixed as well.

Paul and Barnabas had a falling out and went their separate ways over a disagreement regarding the disappointing behavior of Mark when they had given him an opportunity to travel with them …

“After some time Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let’s go back and visit each city where we previously preached the word of the Lord, to see how the new believers are doing.’ Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work. Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus,” Acts 15:36-40.

Paul had been so disappointed with Mark’s desertion that he wasn’t willing to work with him again … at least, not at that time. But things changed. That which led to disappointing behavior in Mark — the guy who wrote the Gospel according to Mark — was later corrected.

“Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you when you come, for he will be helpful to me in my ministry,” 2 Timothy 4:11.

We will all experience disappointment from others, but that can be fixed, and they can become helpful to us. We will all disappoint others, but that can be fixed, and we can become a blessing to others.

Has someone disappointed you? Are you allowing them the opportunity to fix their error and have a second chance? Have you disappointed someone? What are you doing to correct your error so you can be beneficial to others?

Scotty