About 14 years ago, Jenny purchased a set of four all-weather lights for our garden. We never used them, and a few days ago she found the box in the storeroom. Yesterday, we opened the box to see how it all fits together. The system is 220 volts with a step down reducer to 24 volts. The length of the cord is 15 meters, and the idea is you stagger the lights as you want to the maximum of 15 meters. There is a cute fitting where you run the lead through the light fitting and screw up the nut until the lead is pressed against two pins. You do this to all four lights, and once the power is applied, hey presto … you have four lights lighting up a section of the garden.
So, we unpacked the box and following the user’s manual and diagram we find that the four bulbs and shades are missing. Whether it came like this or whether over the years someone removed the bulbs and shades … they are missing and I don’t think spares for this will be available anymore. What a disappointment!
We have a tool/equipment shed behind our house. The house’s back wall is part of the shed with our bedroom on the other side. We have a double 15 amp plug socket built into the wall on either side of our bed. So, the idea was to drill holes through the wall, running a lead into the shed and mounting two double 15 amp plug sockets on the other side, each one connected to one socket on either side of the bed.
On either side of the bed is a wardrobe and bedside cupboard. Everything needed to be moved. The two bedside cupboards and bed were easy to move, but the wardrobes were very heavy and needed to be unpack before we could move them. The bed looked like a pile of secondhand clothing and other items were scattered around the room … and the wardrobes were moved. (Loaded wardrobes cannot be moved on carpets without something breaking.)
Now we were ready to drill through the wall at both pug sockets. We did this and fitted the two double 15 amp plug sockets connected to surfix cable with plugs fitted on the bedroom side … and we had power on both sides of the wall. Back inside, we needed to push the wardrobes back into place, replace the bedside cupboards and push the bed into place.
The trick was to move Jenny’s side into position first because we wanted more room on myside between the wardrobe and the curtain. We started this and Jenny said, “I’ll use my knees and push the bed up against the wall.” Then she said, “Why does the bed not budge?” The reason was that all the clothing was on the bed. Well, Tarzan (me) decided to lift up the head section of the bed whilst Jane (Jenny) pushed the bottom section with her knees. In the process, something snapped at the point where my left hand middle finger joins the hand. Sore? Yes! What a disappointment! Jenny got a basin of ice water and treated my hand. I think the ice water was more painful on my hand than the pain in the finger. Everything else fitted together properly in time for a shower before Bible Study tonight.
Two disappointments! For me the finger will heal and it might be possible to improvise and make another plan for the lights. Disappointment, yes … but it’s temporal. Yet reaction to disappointment for some people could turn into lingering sadness … that feeling of loss, being let down or even betrayal. For them, the pain in their brain after a disappointment is real. One’s brain processes such experiences as events that undermine balance and well-being … resulting in the pain appearing with levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin or dopamine decreasing. For many, disappointment might hurt very much.
But, there is another disappointment that is far more severe! We might go through life disappointing parents, siblings, spouses, children, teachers, lecturers, employees or friends. You feel awful when this happens. What about disappointing God? You promise God you will do something or stop something, and you fail. This disappointment to God leaves the true Christian feeling extremely bad … you let your Lord, who has done so much for you, down! It is not easy, but it is possible to come out of this sin.
There is another disappointment that remains without any hope of decreasing. Remember the parable about the Ten Virgins?
Mt 25:1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 “Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
Just as the foolish virgins were not prepared and not ready for the bridegroom’s arrival, many will not be ready and prepared for when Jesus returns to collect His people although they were warned repetitively and urgently and passionately. The door to the Kingdom will be shut tightly and eternally. It is too ghastly to picture their disappointment, for it’s eternal!
Dear God, there are so many who sit on the fence wanting the pleasure of the Kingdom but refusing the King of the Kingdom. O God, fire up preachers to be more determined and touch hard hearts causing repentance. Amen.