Expectations

Expectations are part of life. We expect things from ourselves, from our jobs, from our partners and others expect things out of us. Our jobs, kids, friends, and partners all have expectations for us. These expectations can be anything from just showing up when you say you will or are supposed to be there to who’s paying for dinner on up to some biggies like staying faithful and providing for the family financially or otherwise. These are normal parts of life often set by our upbringing or even topics previously discussed and agreed upon by both parties.

However, sometimes expectations are only set by our minds and hearts and are based upon what we would like to see happen or what we would do for the other party involved. This is where expectations get sort of dangerous. For example, just because you take someone out on a nice date, pay for dinner and all that does not mean they are to “give it up” at the end of the evening. Just because you show up on time and do what you do and you think you’re smarter or somehow better than this person or that does not mean you automatically get promoted.

Often times as humans we have to get a grasp on what we are expecting from someone or something and look into why we are really expecting certain things. This type of soul searching can be difficult because sometimes it’s a wake- up call to the fact that you have been living in a dream world and you need to step back to reality. Sometimes it’s just a matter of saying ok it’s not a definite no way but you just have to do your part and see what happens.

As a Christian, I believe that God has a plan. We know God does not always solve problems on our time. Sometimes we have to wait right up until the deadline for the solution to be revealed. A true believer will know that it will be solved and has faith in God throughout the process no matter how great the suffering. That’s not to say that we believe we’ll always get exactly what we want because “our Daddy will get it for us” but that we know God is going to make sure the situation is resolved somehow.

The point of this is to help us set our expectations for our own expectations. Sometimes you need to let it go and sometimes you need to just turn it over to God and wait faithfully for the outcome.