Months ago my daughter came up with the idea of us traveling to Melbourne to see Anthony Warlow in Phantom of the Opera. We had seen the show years ago in Sydney, not with Anthony Warlow but Rob Guest. Also that day my daughter had a migraine. She was only a child at the time. Now, an adult, she thought would be good if we could see the show together again.
We booked our tickets, our flights to Melbourne and our accommodation. Nothing was left to chance. This was to be a mother and daughter weekend we would both remember.
We enjoyed our first day wandering around Victoria Markets, visiting the factory outlets of Bridge Street, lunching at Richmond and dining that evening in the famous Lygon St where we defied tradition by not eating Italian but Indian food, before heading to the theatre. Eventually the lights dimmed, the audience hushed only to hear it announced that the part of the Phantom would be played not by Anthony Warlow but by Simon Pryce. A collective groan and murmurs of ‘Oh No’ ran like a current around the theatre.
We sat there stunned. All our planning, all the effort we had put into this weekend and now the person we had come to see as the Phantom was not available. Disappointment swept over us. At that point we could let the disappointment fester, spoil the show and color the rest of the weekend. Or, we could simply sit back and enjoy the show. We allowed the music, the atmosphere and the actors to captivate us and whisk us into the musical world. After a while we became caught up in the story and almost forgot this was not the Phantom we had come to see.
Afterwards we thought how hard it must have been to for Simon Pryce, having heard the collective groans and disappointments to come out and throw himself into the part, giving a great performance. At the end of the show the crowd responded with unqualified enthusiasm, whistles and cheers of praise for the understudy Phantom.
In the Christian life we can allow disappointments and changes of plan to get us down. We can grumble and complain and let disappointment fester and turn us bitter. Or we can respond by accepting the events that happen and making the best of the situation.
My daughter and I chose to lose ourselves in the music and the story. In the end we thoroughly enjoyed not only our evening at the theatre but our whole mother and daughter weekend. It was something we will both treasure.
The way we respond to disappointments can alter the experience. Is there something in your life that has left you disappointed and frustrated? Will you choose to accept what can’t be changed, to move on and allow yourself to experience the good in the situation? And receive the blessing from doing so.
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