Don't like disappointment

Jesus, help me believe that even when I'm disappointed, good things can still happen. Amen.

Jesus heard His friend Lazarus had died and went to his house. Lazarus' sister Martha said to Jesus, "If you'd been here, he wouldn't have died." But Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live." Martha said, "I believe you. You're the Messiah, the Son of God."

Disappointment is a part of life no one likes very much. For every time you score a soccer goal or convince your mom to make your bedtime half an hour later, there are more times when you miss the goal, don't win a contest or can't change your mother's mind.

Things don't always turn out the way you wish they would. Just ask Martha from this week's Gospel (John 11:17-27): Her brother Lazarus died before their friend Jesus got to their house to heal him.

When you're excited about something, you want it to happen just as you imagine it: You don't kick the ball to someone else to score; you make the goal all by yourself. You don't come close in the contest, but lose; you win and everyone you know is impressed.

Lazarus' family must have felt that way. It hurt that they knew their friend Jesus could do miracles, but Lazarus died four days before Jesus even arrived. They had to put Lazarus' body in the cave where people were buried and mourn him that whole time.

Being disappointed feels terrible, but it can help you think differently. If you miss a soccer goal, you might realize how you could have made it and try that next time. If you can't change your mom's mind about bedtime yet, you know you might someday.

For Martha, losing her brother Lazarus probably seemed like the worst pain ever. Talking to Jesus didn't change that, but it did make her realize something: that Jesus really was the Son of God, and people who died would live with God forever in heaven.

Being disappointed doesn't mean you don't have hope!