Hello, dear one!
When you’re let down by a significant disappointment, health, wealth, or a relationship, do you look at it as a loss or a gain?
Two days after last Thanksgiving, as I put away dishes in the kitchen around 9 p.m., I heard a door knock.
Peaking through my glass front door, it was my contractor, Bob.
Standing at the door, he looked deflated, “Sorry, it’s late. I just feel like talking to someone.”
It was cold and drizzling outside, so I asked him, “Would you like some jasmine tea with my blueberry lemon zest almond bread?” He nodded his head and sat down in my kitchen.
After sipping on the tea and taking a bite of the bread, he told me that his long-term girlfriend had left him for another guy. He had been self-loathing and feeling a deep sense of loss, especially around holidays.
My heart was filled with compassion. To uplift him, I told him the story of my neighbor David.
A few years ago, David lost his wife to end-stage liver cancer. After some time, David decided to seek companionship again.
His daughter enthusiastically signed him up with eHarmony online dating.
However, David’s feedback was not so zealous, “There was no harmony in eHarmony. The ladies I met didn’t look anything like the pictures on the website, and I’m too old to sit through their unresolved past dramas.
In his daily meditation, he was clear that being alone was good enough for the time being. He decided to enjoy each day, unconditionally, with or without a lady friend.
A few months later before Christmas, he attended his grandson’s school performance.
Before the show, he went to the men’s room. And when he returned, someone took his seat.
He looked at the guy who took his seat, who was having a great time chatting with people around him, so David said to himself, “What the heck! It’s Christmas. I can sit anywhere.”
As David looked for another seat, his grandson’s teacher recognized him and led him to the far left seat in the first row, next to Rosie, who was in charge of the performance that night.
During the break, they introduced each other. David learned that Rosie just moved here a few months ago to teach yoga and meditation.
After the show, they chatted more. David felt like he had known her for another lifetime. He felt home-coming with her.
A few months later, they tied the knot.
Bob’s eyes sparkled when I explained,
“We’re always on two journeys simultaneously, the physical one and the spiritual one.
You see, David’s physical eyes couldn’t foresee Rosie, so God had to remove David’s seat so that he could sit next to the lady of his life. Isn’t it nice to release something sometimes?”
Bob felt hopeful, “Yeah, maybe I’ll be lucky like David someday.”
He quickly turned to me, “How do you deal with losses?”
Since Bob grew up attending a Christian school, I told a Bible story in Genesis.
Young Joseph was envied and hated by his older brothers. They sold him to Egypt as a slave. Through all the twists and turns, Joseph became a prominent figure in Egypt, equivalent to a prime minister today.
When his brothers recognized Joseph was the brother they abandoned, they begged for his forgiveness.
But this is how Joseph replied,
“You all intended to harm me, but God meant this experience for my highest good.”
Whenever I was let down, this story would remind me that my setback now was setting me up for tomorrow.”
Before I could continue, Bob got excited,” What if losing my girlfriend was part of God’s plan? What if God is working, here and now, to make all things right for me?”
That night, Bob left with hope and the rest of my blueberry lemon zest almond bread.
As I closed the front door, I realized I didn’t lose an hour, but rather, I gained another unforgettable human connection.
The next time when you encounter a challenge, give thanks for it. It’s there to prepare you for the next promotion.
Is it a loss or a gain in the end? Challenge your perspective!