Grated Expectations
In Robert Heinlein’s book The Door into Summer, the main character’s dog signals to go outside. When the door is opened to a gust of frigid wind and a frosty tableau of ice and snow, the eager dog is dismayed and refuses exit --- this is NOT his expected reality. The door is supposed to open to a lovely summer day filled with squirrels to chase.
How I’ve wished for my front door to always open into a freshly cleaned home filled with fresh flowers. But it frequently opens into something that is not my expected reality. I suspect many of you yearn for a door that opens into a conflict-free house, a house that does not need repairs, or a house that still contains a loved one who is no longer there.
Yes, life has a way of taking turns that we don’t expect and do not welcome. The Bible tells us that it rains on the just as well as the unjust. Jesus said very clearly that in life we will have troubles. Not “may”, “will.”
So how do we maintain the ability to choose joy when our natural inclination is to fall into despair or bitterness?
As I write this, the world is in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic. No one expected the quarantines and shut downs which have taken place and are still being expanded. The door into my spring and summer has opened to a horrifying vista: lost jobs, “shelter in place” mandates, and cancellation of events, festivities, family gatherings, and vacations. And I certainly did not expect the door that opened onto urgent media warnings of shortages and instructions on how to make my own toilet paper. Quelle horreur!
Most of us who’ve adulted a few years can reflect on how our younger selves had ideas and expectations about how life would go. I’m pretty sure that the majority of us would now say that our current reality is nothing like our dreams. Our door has not opened into summer. But the Bible tells us that God works all things out for our good. (Romans 8:28) Things that were intended for evil are turned around to bless us. I have evidence of this in my own and my family’s lives. Bewildering job losses that brought anxiety and despair turned out to be God’s way of finessing us into a better opportunity. Health scares that didn’t manifest into the expected end revealed to us how God heals and protects us. The remembrance of these blessings brings Joy, that deep contentment of knowing that I’m loved and cared for --- no matter what it looks like when the door opens.
With COVID-19 fears panicking the public, my pastor reminded our congregation of Psalm 139. God tells me that he knew me before I was formed, and saw me knit in my mother’s womb. All of my days were planned before I had yet lived one. Pastor Ed Garvin summed it up: nothing can happen to me that will result in me living one day less than what God intended. Takeaway: The Creator of the Universe planned out my life and stands guard over it.
If you ask a child to plan a great birthday party, she might envision pony rides, chocolate cake, and a bounce house. She would give no thought to whether there might be pony poop to deal with, how many paper plates would be needed, or if the bounce house installers were reputable and would lash the thing to the ground in a safe manner.
Contrast this to how a professional event planner goes about things. When my daughter married one, I enjoyed having exactly zero responsibility for planning wedding events. My daughter’s fiancé, along with his other professional event planner friends, dove right in. There were meetings and Excel spread sheets. No minor detail was overlooked: extra toilet paper and soap for the restrooms at the reception venue, coloring books and crayons for youngsters who might get bored, baskets of inexpensive flip flops for ladies who might want to shed their stilettos in order to dance. What those professionals created was utterly fabulous, and so much more joyful than what I could have ever envisioned.
I remind myself that whatever I am able to plan or envision for my life, it is like the girl wanting a pony ride and a cake. What God ---the ultimate “professional event planner” --- has in store for me is much, much more than what I in my limited understanding can imagine. (Ephesians 3:20) And I would much rather receive what He thinks I need, rather than what I think I want. It brings me great Joy to know that my Creator, who is omniscient and omnipresent, has a better vantage point of how my life should progress and that He works all circumstances to my good.
As I write this, we are “self-quarantined” for the virus. Supper all this week has been pork ribs that my hubby grilled on the weekend. After multiple days of this, we began craving something different: beef brisket and macaroni and cheese. Restaurant take out service was still available, so my hubby embarked on the mission. Upon his return, we pounced on the bag of take out food. Oh no! Calamity! We received the wrong order and now the restaurant was closed for the evening. Our door did not open onto luscious, moist beef brisket and baked macaroni and cheese. Our door opened onto … pork ribs. Two extra large orders of pork ribs. With green beans and baked beans. Talk about grated expectations. But… we got to sample the restaurant’s other offerings and we probably got more food than what we’d actually ordered. It worked out for our good.
Can you recall where God turned something around to your good? When His provision was so much more than what you had hoped or imagined?