Expectations
I've been thinking lately, probably entirely too much. I've been thinking about the subject of expectations. There are so many places that this plays into my life. First of all at school. At the beginning of the year I had ideas and expectations of who my students would be and how they would act. Now, I have expectations of how they SHOULD act on a day to day basis. Unfortunately those expectations are frequently disappointed.
One of the types of expectations was a type filled with hope. One where I was eagerly awaiting something great. The other type is more one of responsibility, of an expectation to fulfill something that may or may not end in disappointment. As I thought about this, which I wonder which type of expectancy do I have for others most of the time? And which type of expectancy does God have of me?
I think the two are related for me. While I may begin with expectation of hope, sometimes I allow them to become the other type of expectation when they are not met in the ways that I dreamed. However, God has been challenging me not to lose hope in my students. While they will never be perfect, I can give them high expectations and instead of thinking of them as requirements, think of them as hopes. I can hope that my students will become loving, confident, intelligent, selfless, and responsible adults one day.
After all, I'd like to think that God has the same expectations (hopes) for us. That he doesn't just see us as people who aren't meeting a standard and who are disappointing him all the time, but that he sees us as people He has hopes for. People in which he can see potential. I like to think in the times where I place expectations on myself instead of hope, God is hoping for me. He knows who I am, who I've been, and who I will be. He sees the things that I will do for his kingdom and hopes them for me before they ever take root in my heart. I pray that he would continue to send those hopes my way.
One other reason I have been thinking about this is because the advent season has begun. This is a season of hope and expectancy. Our King has already come, but there is something about having this time of hope and waiting for Christmas to remind us of the joy we should have in the fact that he came. When we expect that God is going to show up, He will. When we pray, it should be with a sense of hope and expectancy not with the idea that we will have unmet expectations.
Well I think I'm done using the word expectation over and over again. Here are some other random tidbits of my life.
1. Because we live close to the school, we often don't pay much attention to what time the teacher bus will actually come to pick us up. Therefore I have had a great variety of modes of transportation in getting to school. Some of them have been:
- The teacher bus
- The student bus
- In a random car of someone from the school passing by
- In the trunk of an SUV (several times)
- In the back of a pick up truck
Whenever I am riding to somewhere in the back of a pick up truck, I feel that it is a TIH (this is Honduras) experience.
2. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but our school has 3 very large cages by the poly with birds. (The poly is kind of like an outdoor gym with a roof) In these cages there are some small time of tropical birds, about 4 GIANT Macaws, and just this week we added two toucans. They are beautiful, but all incredibly noisy. My favorite is during Frisbee when some people bring their pet dogs who jump repeatedly at the cage. The birds go crazy.
3. We are currently rehearsing for the hugest and craziest Christmas program known to man. My students are doing a glee(showchoir)-like performance of a Hillsong Christmas song. It's pretty fun to watch. We are currently using two math classes a week to rehearse this. Also, they use all of Spanish classes, Honduran Social Studies, and Music and part of Bible. Then soon we will be missing days of school for this, to go practice at a church AND on the day of the program so the children can be on time. So needless to say, this is my last full week of school. The rest is controlled by the Christmas Program and Finals week. This makes the fact that I am going home seem a lot closer.
4. For some reason my kids haven't really been saying very funny things lately, or the funny things that have happened I can't think of or quote, so I'm sorry to disappoint you in that. I'm sure this week will be funny.
5. It's my birthday in 3 days... November 30th. I'll be 23. That seems a little crazy. My children have already been acting suspicious lately, so I'm not sure what that day might bring. It'll be an adventure for sure. All I'm hoping for is some cooperation and a lot of hugs. =)
Well, I think that's all for today! Until next time!
One of the types of expectations was a type filled with hope. One where I was eagerly awaiting something great. The other type is more one of responsibility, of an expectation to fulfill something that may or may not end in disappointment. As I thought about this, which I wonder which type of expectancy do I have for others most of the time? And which type of expectancy does God have of me?
I think the two are related for me. While I may begin with expectation of hope, sometimes I allow them to become the other type of expectation when they are not met in the ways that I dreamed. However, God has been challenging me not to lose hope in my students. While they will never be perfect, I can give them high expectations and instead of thinking of them as requirements, think of them as hopes. I can hope that my students will become loving, confident, intelligent, selfless, and responsible adults one day.
After all, I'd like to think that God has the same expectations (hopes) for us. That he doesn't just see us as people who aren't meeting a standard and who are disappointing him all the time, but that he sees us as people He has hopes for. People in which he can see potential. I like to think in the times where I place expectations on myself instead of hope, God is hoping for me. He knows who I am, who I've been, and who I will be. He sees the things that I will do for his kingdom and hopes them for me before they ever take root in my heart. I pray that he would continue to send those hopes my way.
One other reason I have been thinking about this is because the advent season has begun. This is a season of hope and expectancy. Our King has already come, but there is something about having this time of hope and waiting for Christmas to remind us of the joy we should have in the fact that he came. When we expect that God is going to show up, He will. When we pray, it should be with a sense of hope and expectancy not with the idea that we will have unmet expectations.
Well I think I'm done using the word expectation over and over again. Here are some other random tidbits of my life.
1. Because we live close to the school, we often don't pay much attention to what time the teacher bus will actually come to pick us up. Therefore I have had a great variety of modes of transportation in getting to school. Some of them have been:
- The teacher bus
- The student bus
- In a random car of someone from the school passing by
- In the trunk of an SUV (several times)
- In the back of a pick up truck
Whenever I am riding to somewhere in the back of a pick up truck, I feel that it is a TIH (this is Honduras) experience.
2. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but our school has 3 very large cages by the poly with birds. (The poly is kind of like an outdoor gym with a roof) In these cages there are some small time of tropical birds, about 4 GIANT Macaws, and just this week we added two toucans. They are beautiful, but all incredibly noisy. My favorite is during Frisbee when some people bring their pet dogs who jump repeatedly at the cage. The birds go crazy.
3. We are currently rehearsing for the hugest and craziest Christmas program known to man. My students are doing a glee(showchoir)-like performance of a Hillsong Christmas song. It's pretty fun to watch. We are currently using two math classes a week to rehearse this. Also, they use all of Spanish classes, Honduran Social Studies, and Music and part of Bible. Then soon we will be missing days of school for this, to go practice at a church AND on the day of the program so the children can be on time. So needless to say, this is my last full week of school. The rest is controlled by the Christmas Program and Finals week. This makes the fact that I am going home seem a lot closer.
4. For some reason my kids haven't really been saying very funny things lately, or the funny things that have happened I can't think of or quote, so I'm sorry to disappoint you in that. I'm sure this week will be funny.
5. It's my birthday in 3 days... November 30th. I'll be 23. That seems a little crazy. My children have already been acting suspicious lately, so I'm not sure what that day might bring. It'll be an adventure for sure. All I'm hoping for is some cooperation and a lot of hugs. =)
Well, I think that's all for today! Until next time!
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