What do you expect?

What do you expect for the rest of your day today? Personally, I am expecting a sweaty, fun softball game, followed by a few laughs with my teammates and an adult beverage.

What do you expect for the rest of your week? Or for the rest of your life? 

As I have journeyed along this dusty road of life, I have discovered that expectations can be a funky thing. It is just about impossible to do anything without having expectations of some kind. I seem to expect some kind of outcome in every event, every encounter, every relationship. 

Sometimes I set my expectations quite high. Some might say unrealistically high. For example, I fully expect the Kansas City Chiefs to play in and then win Super Bowl LXI. An expectation, some would say, that is setting me up for bitter disappointment. 

At other times, I try to rein myself in and set very low expectations… inviting life to toss me a pleasant surprise. But I often find that strategy often doesn’t work very well either. Walking around with a calculatedly low opinion of your friends and neighbors doesn’t do much to foster great relationships.

It kind of makes me wonder what business it is of mine to try and have any expectations whatsoever. Life will be what life will be, regardless of what I expect it to be. Why would I choose to embroider it with either disappointment or arrogant superiority with my off-base expectations? If had chosen to enter this day with no expectations of any kind, wouldn’t I be much freer to embrace each moment on its own terms? Couldn’t I give up worrying about shaking off my disappointment or climbing down off my high horse of pride when my expectations weren’t met?

So much easier said than done. Because humans like to plan. And concocting plans involves having expectations about the soundness and potential success of those plans. And as I keep observing again and again in my life, concocting expectations opens the door to disappointment or arrogance or both. 

So how is a diligent human supposed to approach this whole sticky wicket of planning and expectations anyway? Wise King Solomon offers this take on the preferred, godly approach to planning and expectations. In Proverbs 16:2-3, he says, “All one’s ways may be pure in one’s own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”

And as Jesus so sagely pointed out during his Sermon on the Mount, the flowers of the field don’t let themselves get bogged down with a bunch of unrealistic expectations. And look how content and happy they are! (for Jesus’ exact quote on the topic, you might consult Matthew 6:27-29 in whichever Bible translation you so desire). 

Do your work. Put it all in God’s hands. And then relax. 

Now why didn’t I think of that before?

Abundant blessings;