My first Thanksgiving with my new bride signaled the death-knell of our honeymoon phase. We planned to celebrate with a small romantic meal on Thanksgiving Eve because we were traveling the next day. We planned all the fixings of a traditional Thanksgiving meal and expected it to be picture-perfect.

We had the day off work, so we had lots of time to prepare and be ready. Even with that extra time, we still didn’t have enough hours­–or as we learned later, enough days–to defrost the bird. This was in the day before smartphones, so we life-hacked the old-fashioned way: calling our mothers. They said we could defrost our turkey in cold water in the sink. Crises averted.

Or so we thought. Being new to cooking, I was convinced the turkey was defrosted and decided we could cook it at a higher temperature until it was done enough. At six o’clock we sliced into the turkey–and we saw pink. A LOT of pink. So we threw the turkey back in the oven and said we’d eat a bit later. It will be fashionable, we said, believing our Thanksgiving meal could still be a success. I don’t remember how many times the bird went back in the oven. But I do know we had to reheat all the side dishes once it was done. We ate hours later than our planned dinnertime, disappointed and stressed. Our perfect first Thanksgiving meal was a failure.

There are times in my life when I expect a picture-perfect event. I meticulously plan the details so nothing is left to chance. But things don’t always go as planned. My life can sometimes be like my not-so-perfectly roasted Thanksgiving turkey.

Do you ever feel disappointed by events that didn’t go as planned?

When things don’t go according to plan–when expectations fail me–I reflect on all the ways God never fails me. Psalm 136:1 tells us that “God’s love never fails” (CEV). I can count God’s love when I feel disappointed, when life doesn’t go as planned.

If you’re feeling disappointed by life today, meditate on these reminders from God’s Word about his love and care for you:

Psalm 86:15 (GNTD)

But you, O Lord, are a merciful and loving God, always patient, always kind and faithful.

1 John 4:4b (GNTD)

The Spirit who is in you is more powerful than the spirit in those who belong to the world.

John 14:27 (GNTD)

Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.

1 John 4:8b-10 (GNTD)

…God is love. And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him. This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven.