One or the Other?

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive."
- Robert Louis Stevenson

Had a great discussion with some friends the other day on expectations. We all have them, whether we voice them or not.

I have often thought and said  that if you don’t have a lot of expectations, you won’t be disappointed.  And if you don’t want to be disappointed, don’t have a lot of expectations. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

But maybe it’s a cop out..sort of.

When I think more about it, having expectations is somewhat related to having hope, and I am a big proponent of hope. ;) Without hope, where would we be? There’s always tomorrow and we can hope and believe and have faith that somehow tomorrow is going to better, even if it’s not what we thought it would look like.

Then I read an excellent little article here about expectations vs expectancy.  I  am beginning to see that expectations are all about me and what I want. Expectancy is all about God and faith and ultimately trusting that He has good in mind  (again, perhaps not what we think it’s going to look like).

So, when we lay aside our expectations and just have a position of expectancy,  we can anticipate the future , but live in the present, one day at a time. Ultimately, it’s about trusting in God, who is the one who has promised us a future and a hope.