You plan a weekend at the lake, but awaken Saturday to unexpected rain. Or maybe you prepare a surprise birthday dinner for your hubby, only to learn that a meeting has come up and he can’t make it home in time. Things don’t always go according to plan.
I watched several Olympic events over the weekend… saw the hope and great effort that didn’t always achieve the expected or desired results.
Canada’s bronze medal win in the Men’s 4x100m Relay Final was forfeited when the replay revealed Jared Connaughton had stepped on the line, thus disqualifying his team. He was understandably “devastated and disappointed”.
The bigger shock for me was when China’s Qiu Bo hid his face and berated himself for winning a silver medal in the Men’s 10m Platform Diving… because it wasn’t gold.
Lofty goals and expectations are motivators. As writers working towards publication we do our best to learn the craft, write good stories, polish the words, and then search out contests judges, agents and publishers to help us make the dreams come true.
But not everyone’s will. So how do we deal with broken dreams, unfulfilled desires, or letters of rejection?
When clouds darken your skies, what keeps you watching for the sun’s return?
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Hope is tomorrow’s veneer over today’s disappointment.
Evan Esar
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Anytime you suffer a setback or disappointment,
put your head down and plow ahead.
Les Brown
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And hope does not put us to shame,
because God’s love has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 5:5 ESV
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MUSINGS 
Some helpful quotes, thanks
Thanks for reading, Vera. I’m glad you found the quotes of interest.
Somehow if we could only look at every disappointment as some kind of God appointment…
And can’t we think of a better name than “rejection” letter? Like maybe “not now” or “not today” or “try again” or “refinish” or _____ letter? 😉
Great idea, Sandra. I think we should start a rejection letter revolution!
I’m glad you’re blogging about this, Carol. I was a little dismayed at all the news coverage on us not getting more gold medals. The committee is even discussing what to do about this. Makes me wonder what kind of message we’re sending our young people. Only Gold is good enough? I hope it’s just the non-competitors who think this way.
I was dismayed to hear that, too. It seems to belittle the efforts of those who trained so hard and tried their best. Plus, *any* medal is pretty special in my books, regardless of the colour.
Just getting to the Olympics to compete makes you a winner in my books! When we set unrealistic goals we are bound to be disappointed. I am just grateful for every little achievement that comes my way.
I agree, Darlene. Qualifying for the Olympics is an achievement in itself. While our own achievements may not be of that nature, we shouldn’t downplay them. Some days just getting out of bed is a big one for me! LOL!