What are my expectations…
We try not to have expectations but we do. We expect to lose weight when we eat right. We expect to be stronger if we exercise. We expect our kids will listen when we teach them.
But what happens when my expectations fall apart? My dreams or even my hopeful possibilities just crumble. Healthy food doesn’t make a difference on the scale (as I snack on my kid’s candy). Exercise only makes me feel older (I need more heating pads). Your children quickly forget what you told them as soon as they walked away (Now I forgot what I said).
No matter how many times I try to be flexible and go with the flow, the traffic and carline flow just puts me at a stand still. We are late again to another appointment or school.
Should I cut something?
What I need to cut is my preconceived notions. The notion that I will have a ready-made meal when my husband gets home. The notion that my toddler will behave and not scream all the way through the grocery store even though I decided to cut his nap (one thing I should not have cut). The notion that even though I want to be a good student does not mean I need to be the best and perfect student in all my classes.
What I do need to cut from my life is the notion that God is disappointed in me if I do not meet the expectations that “I” have placed on MYSELF. In the book of Ruth, Naomi did not expect her two daughter in laws to follow her back to Israel. She encouraged them to leave her, but Ruth followed and chose Naomi’s God. Ruth did not expect much from Boaz’s men when picking up the wheat after they harvested it, but God honored her sacrifice and humble heart. She found favor in God’s eyes and in Boaz’s too. She walked into a new world knowing no one and laid her expectations at the feet of God and he rewarded her with a new family and a legacy!
That reminder is so key for me today. The one thing I know I cannot cut is my time with God and the more I sit with Him either in silence or in reading his word the more I know that I need to lay my expectations daily at His feet.
Ask God what things do I need to cut from my life? Ask God what is the best way to lay down my expectations?
Father God, thank you for understanding our struggle in having unrealistic expectations. Help us to lay down my dreams, plans, and even small desires at your feet daily. Help me be able to pivot when things do not work out as we have hoped. Help me expect the unexpected! In Jesus name, AMEN.
