I am sitting here thinking….
A dangerous past time I know…Anyone know what movie that quote is from? The answer will be at the end of the post…no cheating.
So here I am a few days post surgery and all I can do is wonder if I have lost any weight. Isn’t that terrible? Why would I think I had? Yes I had a very large uterus removed but do I really think that weighed enough to show up on the scale?
Lucky for me my scale is upstairs and I am not ready to venture there just yet.
But it got me thinking about how many times in life we are disappointed because of our expectations.
Didn’t inherit as much money as your thought you would? Why did you think you would get anything at all?
Kids don’t call as much as you would of thought they would? Why not focus on the fact that they call at all.
Thought your husband might have the house clean when you got home? Once again, disappointed because we expect things.
I remember one year my young nephew thought he was getting a special backpack…he didn’t, and because of it he had a miserable Christmas. No matter what, that kid wasn’t going to be happy. At the time I thought…what a brat…but now I look back and think of all the times I have done the same thing. I set my sights on what I think a situation will be like and then when it doesn’t turn out that way, I am upset. I’m upset not because someone told me they were going to do something and didn’t, I’m just upset because I came up with a scenario in my head of how I thought a situation was going to look and it didn’t.
As I go into this phase of being a mother in law and grandmother I am trying to learn that I don’t DESERVE anything. Life is a gift and every gift of kindness that is given to me is also a gift.
Expect nothing, but be thrilled with everything you are given…this is a trait I see in older people that are happy.
Now if I could just learn how to do this when it comes to the scale…
But the way, the quote is from Beauty and the Beast.
inspiredwife
inspiredwife
inspiredwife
inspiredwife
inspiredwife
inspiredwife
inspiredwife
inspiredwife
This post really resonates with me. About 5 or 6 years ago, some girlfriends and I went through Power of a Praying Wife together. God really taught me to let go of my expectations (within reason, of course) of my husband and let him be who God wanted him to be. Shortly after I began working hard to do that — I’ll admit that it’s sometimes still a battle – God led him to join the Army! Four years later, I still can’t believe that I’m a military spouse, but it’s been the BEST thing that has ever happened for our little family. We’re closer to the Lord and each other, and it’s been FUN, to boot!! If you had told me that we’d be living in Sicily, I’d have laughed a long time…. I’m a homebody! But here we are and we’re loving it! God is good, all the time!
My brother and his family lived in Sicily when he was in the service. They loved it too . Isn’t it cool to look back and see how God prepares us for our life jouney?
Dianne,
“Expect nothing, but be thrilled with everything you are given”
Good words to live by. They bring to mind our Gramma Gigi’s attitude in life. When we would be angered by some behavior of our kids, she would laugh, clap her hands together and say, “Oh! But aren’t you glad they can do it!” (Not really Gramma, but, we get the idea! LOL)
My own family dynamic has been shifting and I am NOT liking it. LOL While I have been blessed with much to be thankful for, I STILL find myself grumpy and disappointed!
While I always knew the problem was ME, I couldn’t put my finger on what to change to make it better. You hit the nail on the head with this post. It’s MY expectation of how things should be! But, oh how to turn this around? You have definitely given me food for thought. Perhaps I will address this on my neglected blog, which is another area I intend to resurrect! Thank you for the “thought nudge!”
Tammy…thank you for sharing your heart. I think we all need to work on this daily…I’m not sure it is something we will ever really achieve…just strive for. At least we both now have a goal to reach for…good luck
I’ve found my expectations set me up for heartache so often. Realizing it was my expectations that were awry helped me get a handle on how I feel. I don’t always succeed, but it sure has helped! Thanks for sharing, and I hope you do get to loose some weight! But don’t be disappointed in case your anesthesia and the surgery itself causes fluid retention for a while. I don’t know what happens in the body, but I do know it is hard an it, and it needs some time to recover.