Following HIS Lead

theres comes a fine line with expectations.

• To expect too much is to have a sentimental view of life and this is a softness that ends in bitterness. Flannery O'Connor

• Uncertainty and expectation are the joys of life. William Congreve

• What you have made me see," answered the Lady, "is as plain as the sky, but I never saw it before. Yet it has happened every day. One goes into the forest to pick food and already the thought of one fruit rather than another has grown up in one's mind. Then, it may be, one finds a different fruit and not the fruit one thought of. One joy was expected and another is given. But this I had never noticed before - that the very moment of the finding there is in the mind a kind of thrusting back, or setting aside. The picture of the fruit you have not found is still, for a moment, before you. And if you wished, if it were possible to wish - you could keep it there. You could send your soul after the good you had expected, instead of turning it to the good you had got. You could refuse the real good; you could make the real fruit taste insipid by thinking of the other." C.S. Lewis

• Rarely do the followers exceed the expectations of the leaders. Unkown

EXPECTATIONS:
are they good or bad? should we set high expectations? so quality and excellence is maximized or should we have low expectations so they are easily met and attained? or should we have no expectations at all so we're not disappointed or left wanting?

i don't have the answers to any of those questions, but too many times i feel like i've set too high of expectations and im left feeling failed and disappointed, then comes the thinking that if my expectations were lowered, i would be much happier; but would i???
thinking about my expectations in school, with work, in friendships & relationships and church, leads me to the other side of expectations, thinking about what the Lord expects out of me and in searching Scripture, the Lord expects/wants excellence, my best, complete and utter dependence [Prvb 31, Eph 4, Gal 5, 1 Peter 4, James 3, Hebrews 11 and many others]. He expects me to live a holy life, seeking His face, proclaiming His name to the ends of the earth, loving others with His eyes and compassion, pouring out grace and truth, surrendering, losing my life.

are my expectations for others a personality flaw/weakness? am i setting myself up for constant disappointment? how do i remedy this without feeling like im selling out to mediocrity or settling? my constant desire is to please the Lord and magnify Him "living a life worthy of the calling".
my prayer is that my expectations are founded in biblical truth and not selfish desire so at the end of the day its not about me.


grace & peace,
lish