I have a faux book that I keep on my desk.
You know, one of those deal-e-o’s that looks like a book, but it opens up to be a secret box.
Don’t you wonder what people keep in those things?
I like to imagine that people keep treasured belongings in there. Letters from generations past, postmarked during World War II… Rare coins that have become dull overtime, yet all the more valuable… Perhaps a photo of a memory they want to hold forever, like the one showcasing the time they got the Christmas gift they were longing for as a child.
I don’t know why a romanticize about the hidden treasures someone else might hold in their secrets stowaway box.
Mine is full of paper clips, post its, and writing tools. Fitting for a girl like me who figures out what I’m thinking by putting pen to page.
Treasures?
Well, maybe :-)
The meaning in this little fake book comes to me by what it reads on the cover:
Great Expectations
That’s all I need to get me through sometimes – great expectations.
Not expectations of perfection or unattainable standards. Expectations based on God‘s promises.
As you may know, a tough season has befallen my family. Even still, I’ve walked hand-in-hand long enough with God (or perhaps, He’s carried me in His hands) to know an undeniable truth:
If I trust Him and just wait, I’ll find something good that comes out of it.
Like a rainbow when the sun peaks through after rain, I’ve come to expect something good to come out of the darkened downpour. I don’t get to decide what that good will be, so I’ve learned to remain humble enough to let Him do what He wants and to hold space for Him show me what He wants me to see.
I’ve learned it goes better that way… when I let God be God.
When I don’t try to force my own way, it ends up giving me space to breathe… And I see more clearly that way.
I’ve learned that I have good reason to have great expectations when I take God at His word.
He promises to work all things together for good (see Romans 8:29).
Even the hard stuff.
Even the stuff that isn’t good… His capable hand can craft something beautiful from my brokenness.
So I wait – with hope – and great expectations.
The old Christmas song really rings true:
“the thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices…”
Although weary at times, hope is still a thrill.
It lends itself to the reality that I can have great expectations – in this season and every one hereafter.
And so I wait…allowing hope to light my way forward, until I see all the ways He delivers good – beyond my greatest expectations.
May it be that way for you and yours also.
With love,
