As my time in India comes to a close, I’ve found myself trying to reflect on everything I have learned here. And frankly, I don’t want to. Remember when I said I had sensory overload after 5 days? Yeah, I didn’t even know the meaning of sensory overload when I said that.
So if you can bear with me, I’ll try to unpack just one of the things India taught me. But really when I say one it’s probably more like five (I have ADD, sorry not sorry).
Expectations ruin everything. Last night our host took us to get American burgers. This meant chicken burgers. I got diarrhea. I wasn’t expecting that. From meals to marriages, expectations have an immense power over us. I really do believe that. I thought I went into the Race with no expectations. I was wrong- I love how wrong I’ve been this month. And I’ve been wrong because of my expectations.
Coming to India I thought that I would be serving at a school everyday, and then adventuring and exploring on the weekends. In reality, I have only been to a school twice. I wasn’t expecting that. Our weekdays were spent praying for school kids’ families until the kiddos got out of class and then we would play with the kids for a couple hours. Then we would pray more. Then we would eat. Then we would pray more. I wasn’t expecting that.
The weekends? Majority of the time I was trapped in a room with 6 other women. I did not get to see the Taj Mahal or hike a temple. Instead, we often find ourselves remaking Kat and Garth videos. (Quick prayer: Lord, please do not let those videos ever get on the Internet. Amen). I wasn’t expecting that.
I expected God to show up in huge ways- after all, He lengthened my leg at Training Camp… He’s got some tricks up his sleeve. And don’t get me wrong, He did at times. So no, I didn’t see a bedridden man walk for the first time. I was expecting that. But yes, I saw a demon cast out of someone’s body (for those of you that haven’t seen manifestation of the Devil… yes, it is like the Exorcist and yes, it’s slightly (read: extremely) terrifying). I was expecting that.
I saw God through my teammates. Everyday I see Jesus’ servant heart through Heather. Everyday I see Jesus’ sense of humor through Juliana. Everyday I see Jesus’ attention to detail through Kylie. Everyday I see Jesus’ ability to pray for others through Morgan. Everyday I see Jesus’ joy through Caitlin. Everyday I see Jesus’ compassion through Caleigh. I wasn’t expecting that.
And I really wasn’t expecting God to show up through a secular song while I had quiet time. Actually, 6 of them. And then He said, “Expectations are unhealthy, I work as I please.”
Oh.
Psalms 5:3 says, “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you and watch expectantly.” So I can have one expectation, and one only. God will show up. It’s just usually not in the way we expect.
This month, India taught me a lot. God taught me a lot. But as I look back at India I will remember the greatest thing I learned: Expect God.
