Bridgman, MI—My Detroit Lions (NFC #1 seed at 15-2), who had a realistic probability of making it to this year’s Super Bowl, unexpectedly fell short on Jan. 18, losing to the Washington Commanders, who were the NFC #6 seed.
After decades of despair, gingered up by optimism in the last two years with the team’s growing success, I was really devastated by this improbable exit in this year's playoff run. This is one of the greatest disappointments of my life.
We all experience disappointments. There are small ones, which are hardly worth remembering.
Sometimes our disappointments have silver linings. Such was the case for me in 2013 when I had six failed attempts at love through a dating agency in Portland, Maine. I was ready to give up until I met No. 7, Sharon, who would be my future wife.
The disappointment I'm currently experiencing has brought to mind “The Great Disappointment” in the 1840s. As a Seventh-day Adventist, the history and origin of my church were the silver lining directly tied to this historical event.
In the 1840s, William Miller, a Baptist minister from upstate New York, studied the books of Daniel and Revelation and concluded that the Second Coming of Christ would occur on a particular date in October 1844. He preached about this belief in the Northeast, where his message became increasingly popular and his stature as a preacher grew.
As Miller’s interpretation of the prophecy spread to other states in the north, the number of his followers, known as Millerites, grew exponentially. The Millerites were so convinced of the soothsaying that many sold all their possessions before the marked date to show their commitment.
I had the same level of anticipation last December. I was so convinced that my Lions would make it to the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 that I made travel arrangements to ensure I would be in New Orleans to experience the Lion's first-ever Super Bowl appearance.
On Oct. 22, 1844, the Millerites woke up thinking it would be their last day on Earth, Christ would come and they would be transported to heaven for a happily-ever-after existence. When the day passed uneventfully, most of the Millerites became despondent. Their disappointment was so great that some stopped believing in Christianity.
While I can relate to this feeling with the Lions' loss on Jan. 18, my disappointment has not caused me to lose faith in my Lions.
After Oct. 22, 1844, a group of Millerites in Maine and New Hampshire decided to study the Bible even further to see if Miller erred in his calculation and assumptions of the prophecies in Daniel and Revelation. A young James White and Ellen Harmon from the Portland area, along with others, uncovered some of Miller’s errors. The Bible referred to Oct. 22, 1844, but not the Second Coming. In Matthew 25:13, Jesus spoke of his Second Coming: "You will know not the day nor the hour.”
As this group studied the Bible deeper, they realized the importance of the story
of Creation, which taught that God had created the earth, the firmament, the animals and man in six days. Then He rested on the seventh day. According to the Bible, God created the seventh day as a day of rest and celebration of the creation.
On Aug. 30, 1846, James White married Ellen Harmon. The two of them, along with other Millerites and medical pioneers like John Harvey Kellog, began observing the seventh day Sabbath and teaching the principles of good health. This resulted in the formation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which now has over 20 million members worldwide.
So the silver lining to “The Great Disappointment” was the development of a church that now has over 1,000 Seventh-day Adventist hospitals and health clinic programs (such as the Guam SDA Clinic and Saipan SDA Dental Clinic) and is now known around the world as a leader in health care and wellness as well as a proponent of productive lives.
As I try to recover from my current great disappointment, I trust my Lions to learn valuable lessons from unexpectedly falling short this year. These lessons will, hopefully, be the silver lining that will bring them to San Francisco for the 2026 Super Bowl and propel them to victory. By then, I can wear a tee shirt that says: “Detroit Lions - World Champions!”
Theodore Lewis is the former CEO of Guam Memorial Hospital and has a healthcare consulting business in Bridgman, MI. He is collecting stories about lessons learned in life and can be reached at theodorelewis@yahoo.com.
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