I still remember at a winter camp in high school, a speaker described ways we can allow our frustrations to get in the way of what God is doing. For me, the one that always stuck with me is frustration of expectations. I think that has been part of my struggle lately.
Things at home have not gone as I expected after coming home from training camp.
People have not always responded the way I expected them to.
The countries I expected to be going on changed and new ones have been added in their place.
When I expected an overwhelming yes, a door was shut instead.
When I expected God to show up in big ways, instead he was whispering in my ear
You see, the trouble is that when we walk into a situation with certain expectations, we get so caught up in whether or not they get met that we don’t see what is actually happening.
It hit me the other night that I was so focused on the things not going as planned that I wasn’t able to appreciate all of the unexpected blessings that have come my way. Until last week when God really blew me away with how he chose to deliver funds to reach the deadline. I started realizing I have no right to these expectations in the first place. Who am I, anyway? Because I’ve begun to let go of how I expect things to happen, I’m able to see more clearly all the ways people have been coming around me, supporting me, encouraging me, and pushing me deeper, and I can’t tell you how thankful I am.
So, far now I am focusing on loosening my grip. I am daily letting go of my expectations (for real this time). I am quieting my own voice so I can better hear the voice of God as he whispers to me, and so that I can better appreciate the unexpected ways in which he is providing and those he is providing through.
Give Up, Let Go – Big Daddy Weave
I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who has been donated. I have officially surpassed the $5,000 mark, and as such am definitely leaving with my squad January 7th!!! I am sooo excited – It is coming up fast! As you can see, there is still a long way to go till I am fully funded, and it will be hard to raise funds while we are gone, so my goal is to get to $7,500 before launch! Please consider supporting me, whether it be through a monthly donation, or a 1 time gift. Every dollar goes a long way!
