Finding forgotten money in your pocket.
A letter from a long-lost friend.
A stolen kiss.
These things and more are special not just because of their essence but because their arrival is unexpected.
Most of the time when we consider expectations we think of expectations unfulfilled. Life is built on a series of beliefs regarding what’s going to happen next and how life is going to turn out to be. Life rarely, if ever, matches our anticipation. Instead, in both good ways and bad, it takes a turn towards the unexpected.
The challenge is to welcome those things that are not what we thought of them; to embrace those times that turned out different from our plans. If we trust in our Maker and are following His commands, we have to believe that these shifts and changes are for His glory. The more we fight them, the more we are fighting His will for our life, and are restlessly adverting what He’s called us to be.
Having expectations is not bad. Clinging to them despite changing circumstances is. When we resist, we risk being incontent and we miss out on all the good that comes from the unexpected.