Disappointment by Susan L.

  During my travels I got thinking about my comment a couple of posts ago about having been disappointed many times in my life.
  Where does disappointment come from?
  Usually it's when someone or something fails to respond or have the results we expected. And there is the crux of the matter. Living with expectations. They can be awfully heavy burdens for someone to bear. Trying to live up to how someone expects us to behave can really stifle, if not downright suffocate us, and who we truly are in Christ. In turn, our own expectations are a huge burden to others.
  It rules this world. We are expected to be thin and fit. (The rate of eating disorders in young men is on the rise.) We are expected to have the latest techno gadget. We are expected to have the nicest, fastest car, the highest paying jobs, the biggest house, the most education. (The amount of debt the average Canadian carries is staggering.) Advertising and cultural innuendo does a good job of helping us feel inadequate. It's all a ploy to get us to buy into their product. They expect us to!
  There's no room for grace in a life lived with expectations because they are all about control. There's no room for flexibility. There's no room for laughing at ourselves. There's no room for contentment. Perhaps that's why God has stressed how important it is that we forgive just as we are forgiven.
  I remember reading a long time ago about living with expectancy. It's a verb, an action word, that has fluidity. Expectancy opens the door to endless possibilities. That means living without the need to control situations, people or the future. Expectancy means turning everything over to God by letting go of things.
  I think about some of the greatest scientific discoveries. Experiment after experiment ends with starting all over again. Yet, the determination, the expectancy of success, has lead to many wonderful breakthroughs. And yes, there were often unforeseen results that have benefitted all of mankind.
  Writing this blog is an exercise in expectancy. I sit down at the keyboard and wait for inspiration. Same with the drafting table. I admit living with expectancy has taken some practice! I'd really like it to become part of my everyday existence.
  Expectancy's brother is trust.
  Thank You, Lord, for that little gem.
  "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than put confidence in princes." Ps 118:8-9