Surrendering Expectations

     A very dear friend recently told me "you have to set aside your idea of what it should look like; it may not look like your dream".  Within the context of our conversation and topic, that was hard advice to hear.  Everyone wants their dream-come-true and their happily-ever-after.  She was asking me to lay down my expectations.

Expectations:  noun,  plural noun:  expectations  

1. a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future.  

2.  a belief that someone will or should achieve something.  

{Enter my stubborn will}  "I don't want to set aside my expectations.  This is what I want it to look like."  Those same words could easily be spoken by any young child, yet here I am stomping my foot and insisting on something that isn't very likely, at least not in the foreseeable future.  My friend was loving me back to reality and asking me to refocus my imposed expectations.  She could see my need for an adjusted happily-ever-after rather than no happily-ever-after.

"...the sweetness of a friend comes from {her} honest counsel."  ~Proverbs 27:9b (ESV)

     So how do I lay down my desires and my ideas?  How do I put my expectations aside when they coincide with the heart of my character? What does it look like to compromise on the process, but not on the outcome?  Am I willing to surrender part of me for the greater good?  Big questions.

{Enter my BIG God}  I don't need to have the answers of the how?, all I need is the Who that can redesign my heart and temper my expectations.  God can fill the grooves of my heart left by disappointment with His love and compassion if I just surrender.  Stop pushing my own agenda, and allow Him to fashion the dream best suited for me.

"I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you.  I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart."  ~Ezekiel 36:26 (NLT)

     God always dreams bigger for us than our finite minds are even capable of.  He knows the beginning from the end; and everything in between.  I must continue to trust His ways and allow Him to lead my heart beyond my expectations to the happily-ever-after that He has designed.  It will be so worth the surrender of my dreams for His dreams.

       "A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."  ~Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV)

     Let me be the first to tell you, this girl is still a stubborn, messy work in progress. There are days I hold on to my wants with every muscle in my body.  I've also been known to revert back to those childish temper-tantrums when life doesn't roll the way I pictured it.  ;)  Placing expectations on my myself and others seems to just come naturally.  Thankfully, God doesn't expect the same standard of perfectionism that I tend to impose.  In His great mercy, He lovingly accepts us where we are and gently chisels our expectations into God-honoring dreams.   Perfection this side of eternity doesn't exist anyway.  I need to accept His grace for my own imperfections and learn to give that same grace to others.
     The Lord blessed me with a dear friend to show me that putting aside my expectations will allow the Holy Spirit to lead me to the happily-ever-after that He wants to give me.  Surrendering my expectations.  I can honestly say this is a "Goliath" size battle for me in the present moment, so for now, this blog is

TO BE CONTINUED...........