3 Points to Ponder
- The apostle Paul became the master of managing expectations as he was content in plenty and want. Where right now are your expectations out of line resulting in a lack of happiness?
- Resentment’s foothold forms when expectations collide with unfulfilled reality. This is the path to bitterness. Where is there a resentment foothold in your heart that needs resolving?
- Sometimes it rains on our parades. It is inevitable. And when this happens, we can either dance in the rain or curse at it from under our umbrella. Either way, the rain isn’t stopping, but with one option, it is more enjoyable. With something big coming up for you, how can you prepare your heart for whatever outcome comes your way?
2 Quotes to Share
“My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance and in inverse proportion to my expectations.” -Michael J. Fox
“Lower your expectations of earth. This isn’t heaven, so don’t expect it to be.” -Max Lucado
1 Story of Impact
Since college, I’ve been going on a Rocky Mountain ski trip. For a flatlander, living in Iowa, this is a big deal. For the past five years, I’ve gone on this trip with friends. The planning typically starts in May or June with the trip being in January. The expectations build in the months leading up to the trip, escalating in an epic time, worthy of telling our grandchildren someday. Until it isn’t. This year, our ski trip brought two 20+ hour travel days from the snowpocalypse across the Midwest, renting a minivan and driving from Denver to Des Moines in -18 degree weather and winter storm warnings, a fall on the ice resulting in a dislocated ankle, broken ankle, and broken leg, followed by surgery in Colorado (not for me, but for one of my buddies), and fighting sickness and COVID remnants resulting in extreme exhaustion (for me). Not exactly the trip we all had pictured in our mind. What do you do when your expectations don’t meet reality? We’ve all been there, where we saw the story in our mind of how the day would unfold, only to find it completely different when it finally played out. When this happens (not if, because it will happen at some point to all of us), we have two options. We can swallow the bitter pill and play the woe-is-me card, becoming discouraged and eventually angry at the world. Or, you can find the silver linings, being present in the situation to harness the good from the gory. Same situation, with completely different attitudes and outcomes. For me this week, I saw friends genuinely take care of one another. Memories were built sitting in empty airports, rental vans, and grounded, snow-covered airplanes. Fun was found even when circumstances weren’t fair. Expectations were readjusted in a good way. So when life throws you the proverbial 20+ inches of snow with -40 degree windchill when you thought it would be sunny with clear skies, how can you readjust to be present to the good going on around you?
