Treasure

A child sees a grand, glitterly-decked present with her name under the tree. The days preceding Christmas she anticipates. Then! Then the time, and her little fingers fumble with the wrapping, clumsy with quivering excitement. Bow off, ribbon undone, wrapping is whisked off, and lid undone and—

the box is empty.

Disappointment.

Perhaps the child bites her trembling lip. We are to rejoice always after all. “I should, I should” traipses through her mind again and again. She finds a little solace in a self-pat on the back and tries to go on as if it didn’t matter.

Or perhaps she sits and pouts. Dwells on the empty box. The whole day has a grey cloud looming over.

But the child ponders. Not expecting anything, she looks into the disappointment again. Then, something catches her eye—a little note folded on the bottom. She unfolds and brings to her father to read to her. A clue to a treasure hunt! And together, father and child wander, following clue after clue. A treasure awaits.

Our disappointments, big and small. A friend who forgot our birthday. A self-employment venture down the drain with years of dreams and investments. Future dreams enveloped by chronic illness. An anticipated outing with a friend postponed because of a cold. A wedding not celebrated, or diminished by family. So many disappointments. During the holidays, they can be especially poignant. Or the unresolved bitterness can be especially poisonous. 

Some of us stuff them, either out of fear or a conviction that we are called to more. Yet, I think disappointment itself can be right—it is a letdown after something good is not realized. It speaks to the goodness of the dream, item, time. It speaks of the value of the friend we wanted to get together with, the treasure of life and health. The problem comes when we allow it to define us and dominate us, and it becomes bitterness rather than disappointment.

Disappointment, rightly, should be like the clue. We go to our Father and see it as an invitation. We trust his timing, his goodness. No matter what the treasure hunt may lead us into, ups and downs, valleys and mountains, and no matter the length of the journey, we walk it with our Father, knowing there is his goodness at the end. He is our treasure and he is leading us deeper into him. Disappointment is a treasure hunt, a journey of his unexpected graces even in the let downs. After al, he did come as a babe; the greatest gift in the most unassuming, unexpected way.