As I was putting a puzzle together this week, an analogy hit me. Can you see that tiny little clothes line in the middle of the picture behind the corner of the barn? That piece there...well, it really got me. I became quickly convinced that it probably didn't even exist. The missing piece clearly wasn't on the table, so after searching under the table and all over the floor, I was sure the puzzle company left it out of the box. Well, dang. I was jipped! After silently whining over the missing puzzle piece for some time, I looked down and discovered it right there with a group of other peices in plain sight. {ahem.cough.}
This scenerio occurs many times in real life as well. OFTEN, actually. I place expectations on people or situations around me. At times, my expectations are even unreasonable. When something doesn't happen as fast or as easily as I expect, I assume that my situation must be broken or missing which leaves me in an internal panic. But if I could just sit back. And breathe. And trust. And take my hands off the table for a while,... then I might discover that all the pieces are truly there ~just waiting to be discovered in good time.
A couple weeks ago, my pastor talked about setting expectations on other human beings versus anticipating the promises of God. (podcast here)
"expectations is the root of heartache"
-Shakespeare
But the things promised to me by God will not leave me heartbroken. Simeon was the old gentleman in Luke 2 who was given a promise by the Spirit of God. The promise was that he would be able to see Jesus, the Messiah, before he died. I can only imagine that as each year passed, he wondered if he was being let down. Or would God really pull through for him? Would this anticipated event truly ever happen? How long would he have to wait? I wonder if he scrambled around, looking for a reason to complain that he had been jipped? I guess that's what I would have done. I do have much to learn...
