Expectations…

As I’m sitting here in my cabin on the first night of our vacation, listening to Jeffrey and Jenna playing sleeping in the next room, I’m reflecting on a truth that became quickly apparent this evening as we arrived at our cabin… expections and reality don’t always align.

How so?

Well, let’s put it this way… when I made reservations at the Lakeshore Resort here on Lake Taneycomo, I didn’t realize they had an “annex”, and certainly didn’t expect to be staying at such. From the time we arrived, struggled to figure out why the map ownership left for us didn’t match the layout of their property, realized we’re actually a couple blocks up the road, finally found the “annex”, and were a bit shocked to discover the great pictures on their site didn’t quite match the reality of their annex… our reaction changed from sheer elation of the prospect of staying in a quaint little cabin just a stone’s throw from the lake to the shock at the discovery that we’re staying in a 70’s-ish cabin that’s more of a BB gun’s shot from the lake.

You got it. Reality didn’t match our expectations.

Now, don’t get me wrong… I’m not upset about this. It took a bit of adjustment upon discovering that the condition of our cabin didn’t quite match the suite Nancy and I stayed in last time we visited Lakeshore, but we’re happy here. The colors of the cabin are a bit outdated, the appliances and fixtures were obviously not installed yesterday, but it’s well-kept, clean, and perfectly functional for our purposes… actually quite nice. It just didn’t match what we had expected.

It’s interesting how our life experiences with God are like our experience so far at Lakeshore. We have some preconceived notion of how He’s going to work in our lives… what He’s going to do… what we need Him to provide… how He’s going to reveal Himself to us. We want Him to meet our needs OUR way, and find ourselves disappointed to find He won’t be treated as a servant.

It takes time for us to step back, get over our frustrations, and open our eyes to the reality of His provision. When we really see, we’ll note that His gifts are always perfectly adequate to sustain us, moreso… always, in reality, exactly what we NEED.

As for the frustration part? I think it goes away if we’re wise enough to match our expectations with His reality. I’m still working on how to make that happen.

If any of you figure it out, be sure to let me know.