Lifted out of disappointment

My daughter was about to embark on her graduate school journey when everything changed. Because of the pandemic, she had to attend classes virtually instead of in person. Her excitement at having earned a place at a top university in her field turned into disappointment. I felt her sadness and knew she was one of many students facing this situation.

Stories from the Bible have proven to be helpful when I’ve prayed about disappointing situations. For example, before entering the Promised Land, the Hebrew nation wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Throughout that time, God was supplying the people with protection, provisions, and direction. Biblical descriptions of their experiences indicate that their clothes and shoes remained intact, their feet did not blister or swell, manna and quail fell from the sky, water was drawn out of a rock, and a column of cloud and another of fire guided them day and night. But the journey was not without its challenges, and at those times the Hebrews complained that maybe life had been better as slaves under the Egyptians.