Disappointment

The word “disappointment” means a failure to fulfill the hopes or expectations of someone (even oneself.)

Back in the 1980’s, I was asked to give a talk to all attendees at an educational conference on medical records in Indianapolis. I had never spoken to a crowd that was in excess of 600 people before. I was nervous. I was a bit frightened. I worked for weeks at preparing a presentation that included film clips of a number of recent movies, tying the film clips to a point I was trying to make about confidentiality of health information and how to manage the complicated set of rules and regulations that governed how to maintain a healthcare record correctly.

I walked onto the stage after I was introduced and, to my shock, I found that the overheads would not work, despite checking on their functionality before my one-hour talk. In a moment of controlled panic, I made a joke about technology and then tried to proceed talking from my outline. Then…guess what? As my hands were shaking, I accidently pushed my outline off the podium. When I picked it up, I could not put the pages back in the correct order, due to my nervousness. So, I winged the talk from memory and, to say the least, I was disappointed and embarrassed that what I had prepared so hard to deliver did not go as planned.

I also remember, on another occasion, my family had held a surprise birthday party for me. I had no idea it was happening…I was just simply delighted to go to a restaurant with my son. When we met the Matre De at the door leading into the restaurant, he asked my son in front of me if he was part of Gryzbek Surprise Birthday Party happening in the back room. My son was angry and mortified that everything with the surprise went flawlessly until the very last moment.

We all face disappointments in life. Sometimes it is due to an accident, but sometimes it is because God may have other plans for one’s intended course of action.

Now that I am in my senior years, I always invite God into my plans for big or small events, or talks, or whatever else I have going on. I surrender to God my hopes to do well, and instead, I add “Your will be done”.



In that way, if my best-laid plans do not materialize the way I had hoped for, I can take comfort knowing that I had left it in God’s hands. That gives me a sense of peace. I hope if this makes sense to you, it will help you as well.

By: Deacon Tom Gryzbek