Disappointment to Dependability

During the Civil War, the son of a devout Quaker family ran off and enlisted in the army to the great disappointment of his peace-loving father.
One night the father had a dream that his son had been wounded in action and was calling out his name. He wasted no time preparing his horse-drawn buggy and he rode for days to the scene of combat. Once there, he inquired of the commander where he might find his son. Sadly, the commander replied that many wounded remained on the battlefield after heavy action that day, but he gave the father permission to go in search of his son.

Making his way through the dreadful carnage, he called out his son’s name. "Jonathan Smythe, thy father seeketh after thee!”

Finally he heard a faint, barely audible cry, “Father, over here.”
Hurrying to the familiar voice he found his son, lying mortally wounded. As he cradled the boy in his arms, suddenly he opened his eyes, and said, “Hello father. I knew you’d come.” And then he breathed his last.

Our disappointments tell us much about our expectations --- yet very little about our circumstances. The next time you’re tempted to be disappointed in your child, remember how much that child is depending on you.

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. – Colossians 1:19-20