It Wasn’t Supposed To Be That Way!

This was to be your year, Anna. Waiting for the fun-filled events of graduation to become a reality. But none of us envisioned it would come to an abrupt halt like it did. Interrupted by a nasty virus, everything dropped off the calendar in one swoop. Your senior concert, prom, classes, parties, ceremonies and family vacations all cancelled. Your world was shut down and it wasn’t supposed to be that way. Not this year.

If we could take away all your disappointments, you know your family would. But somehow I know God is weaving something beautiful into your life through this season. I know that’s true because of a disappointment I experienced my senior year. While it’s not the same situation, all my plans came to a sudden halt through a college rejection letter. My heart was broken and my dreams shattered. It wasn’t supposed to be that way either.

I wish I could tell you my faith held strong. But the tear stains on my pillow were evidence my world was shaken.  I felt God had let me down. But I didn’t know then that if I had gone to that college, my whole life would have been derailed. I ended up at a college that actually wanted me where I met the love of my life. Your Grandpa was there waiting for me, and I could have missed him! Can you imagine any other Grandpa than yours? God does work all things for our good!

For you, it was a virus that reigned in disappointment but whatever we face in life, we can find treasures in the darkness. The Bible became my best friend during this dark season. I devoured the Psalms and learned God is still good when our circumstances are not. He brings good from even the worst of times. I would have never learned that without the pain.

There is a discipline in our disappointments that could destroy us, unless we allow it to lift us above the pain by being thankful. 

And that’s just what you have done, Anna. As we’ve watched you walk through this season, we saw you choose joy instead of despair. What’s inside of us comes out when our world is shaken, and your smile and positive attitude revealed a girl who trusts Jesus no matter what.

This was not at all how you expected your senior year to end. Daily e-learning, zoom meetings, and social distancing became your new normal. But now you have new memories to tuck away, strange as they may be, with an assurance that God is at work behind the scenes making all things beautiful in time. I look for many good things He will bring about from it.

There’s not much we can do to erase your disappointments, but you will be celebrated. Your family will make sure of that! And just think of the story you’ll have to tell your own kids some day! They’ll know you can’t make these things up!

Love, Grandma