What's Expected?

Psalm 5:3
In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
    in the morning I lay my requests before you
    and wait expectantly.

The calendar declared September 22 as the first day of autumn. But in Ohio the thermometers registered close to ninety degrees. Too hot to be considered the wonderful season of change I look forward to every year. I'm not a summer person. Although I've enjoyed swimming with the grandkids and visiting Lake Erie, I'm ready for cooler days and nights. Breezes with the slight smell of chimney smoke and fallen leaves. And oh the pumpkin flavored goodies. But because of the hot days, I can't wrap my head around the idea that leaves will be changing soon, and I'll be donning a jacket. Because the season hasn't changed as I expected, I feel restless, unsure I can trust the weather.

Expectations can be misleading and disappointing. How often have I expected God to show up the way I thought he should ? I've prayed and assumed he'd answer exactly as I petitioned. When he didn't, anxiety crept in, my imagination blew out of proportion, and I felt restless. But then, guess what. I found out that God knows better than I do. My expectations don't always match the wisdom of my loving Father. I've learned it's better to push expectations to the sidelines and instead embrace faith and trust. I believe God knows best. And I need to put that into practice. Is it easy? Nope. But life is so much better when I anticipate with faith instead of my own assumptions.

Praise God that he knows what's best for me!

Have you had expectations and found out God had a better plan?