Good morning…
I was looking forward to our time together, sharing face-to-face, one-on-one. I was hoping for an important, intimate conversation. I was anticipating wonderful, but completely against my will wonderful changed its form.
I was disappointed. Frustrated. Mad that my well formed expectations were not being met. If I had stayed angrily stuck on how I thought our time would be best spent, I might have missed the unexpected blessings that grew between the three of us instead.
I am learning that gratitude is grown in the fertile field of flexibility. As we grow more flexible, we surrender our controlling way to God’s expansive ways. Seeking to develop the art of going with God’s flow, here is the heading above a helpful Scripture verse I just haphazardly happened upon: “God’s Spirit Makes the Difference.”
When the Spirit is given to us from heaven, deserts will become orchards thick as fertile forests. Honesty and justice will prosper there, and justice will produce lasting peace and security. You, the Lord’s people, will live in peace, calm and secure, even if hailstones flatten forests and cities. You will have God’s blessing, as you plant your crops beside streams, while your donkeys and cattle roam freely about (Isaiah 32: 15-20, MSG).
When we disconnect disgruntled in the dry desert of unmet expectations, we can miss the Spirit given to us from heaven. If we remain open to the saturation of God’s Spirit, we may see thick orchards and fertile forests rise up right before our expectant eyes. God grows in us a genuine concern for peace and equality with a real respect for all people, not just the loved ones we too often handpick and hoard for ourselves. When we grow grateful for what truly is, we will live flexibly at peace with God and others, calm and secure, even if hailstones happen to destroy what we were expecting. As we plant ourselves permanently beside God’s overflowing streams, we can allow our loved one to roam freely about without thinking things “should” be different.
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8, NIV).
When we face unmet expectations, may we be one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. May our deep roots be saturated by the stream of God’s Holy Spirit as we continue to bear eternal fruit that never fails.
…Sue…
