Unmet Expectations

What to do When...Everyone is Counting on You

Have you ever felt the kind of pressure which stems from other people's expectations and/or needs? The parent of a newborn understands this kind of need. The child of an aging parent with health issues, understands this situation also.  But what about you? Is there someone who is counting on you to do or to be something for them?

When I meet with a new group of women, in my attempt to get to know them better, I frequently ask, "Do you have a dream? What do you look forward to in life?"  Most of the time I see  blank stares and quizzical looks revealing that many of us have no dreams to follow. No dreams to grasp and pursue.

Mark Ballenger, in a recent blog post wrote: "Expectations and desires are such a beautiful and yet dangerous part of life. To have a dream, let alone seeing it fulfilled, creates a feeling in your heart that is essential for a meaningful life. To have desires is to have a heart that is alive." For years, I had quiet dreams, dreams I never shared anywhere but in my journal-if there. There was a season that my dreams were the dreams of my husband, to retire in the north-woods of WI. For the longest time, this was my worst nightmare - but that is another story.

Following my husband's death, I realized I had no dreams to pursue, nothing that I could call real meaning for life. Then I pulled out my old journals and those dreams were rekindled. I began to understand that if I had no dreams, no feeling of hope, it probably meant I had lost my heart and passion for life. But I knew that was not true.

As I was praying about my "One Word" for 2018, God lead me to the word DREAM.  He also provided Psalm 37:4 for me to embrace and believe.    

Delight yourself in the LORD 

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Read Esther 1-3, and discover the backstory to this faithful Queen's life. There were many expectations placed on her, and she lived up to them.