I thought we'd talk about expectations, today, with a few random stories from past and present.  

I remember the day that Davis, little Blair, and I went to the hospital for my gender reveal ultrasound. Eighteen years ago, the ultrasound was your gender reveal party. They told you what the baby was and then you went home and called everybody and they'd tell you how excited they were and that was that. It was a simpler time and I'm glad I lived in it.

Anyway, the technician informed us that our bundle was definitely a boy and Blair immediately crossed her arms as her eyes filled with tears. She had these great expectations of having a little sister to share all things girly with and the news was a big blow to those dreams. Davis and I were thrilled, though, because his family name had met a dead end with only one more chance expected for it to continue and this was it. 

Also, from the moment they told us that our second child would be a boy, I expected it would be a much less complicated road to travel than the girl route, but I don't think I fully appreciated what a step down in the level of difficulty it really was until Carson's senior portrait session, last week.

First, let me clarify.....Blair was a dream. She was so easy to parent and never gave us one minute of trouble, but girls, in general, just require more. More of everything, really.

Anyway, I went with Carson to the studio of our sweet friends, the Whiddons, and I'm telling y'all....this son thing is a dream. He wore a pair of jeans and we took three shirts. And, really, that was one too many. There were no humidity issues or accessory problems or shoe changes or bobby pin shortages. Nope. He'd just go take one shirt off and put on another one. No one was bloated or cried about their hair or lost an earring or needed a strapless bra. Just pure simplicity. Even more simplicity than I could've ever expected, all those years ago.

I have to share a couple because I'm a Mama and that's what we do...... 
I got a text from Blair, last week, that read "Note to self...always ask about prices before making appointment at new salon". She and John Samuel are living in a new town and, well, you know how it is when you move somewhere new- you have to find a new church, dentist, doctor, salon, etc.  Well, it was time for a haircut and she did her research, got some referrals, and made an appointment. When her chair was twirled around to face the mirror, she was feeling so good about her new cut at her newfound salon......that is, until they told her the bill was $205.

Needless to say, as the daughter of "Dave-is" Ramsey, she wasn't expecting that. Who would have? I mean, there is a range in which haircut prices are expected to fall and that was way outside those perimeters. The said father would have lost consciousness, collapsed, and busted his chin on the counter on the way down to their marble floor, but Blair paid the bill and left looking so good, but feeling shell-shocked. Times like this make me thankful that our expectation, that she'd graduate from college and get a job, was met.  

Anyway, she said when they put her in a big, comfy, reclining chair and covered her with blankets and placed a warm compress over her eyes with a drop of lavender under her nose, just to wash her hair, well, she started to have suspicions that she might be in the wrong place for someone in her tax bracket. It just wasn't what she expected when she called and made an appointment for a simple haircut. (I wish I had a picture to share here, as well, so you could all see what a haircut of that magnitude looks like.)

I remember when I did floral work for weddings. One evening, we were putting the finishing touches on a reception, while the caterers worked around us and the band set up their equipment. There was a large woman, who seemed to be hanging around the area where the band was. She was in a wheelchair and wore an oxygen mask, so I was sure she was just a friend, not expecting that she was part of the group as she appeared so weak and unhealthy.

We worked, as it was getting down to the wire, and I was so excited when the instruments started warming up. One of my favorite parts of doing wedding work was the music. Whether it was a pipe organ and piano practicing at a church or a band warming up at a reception hall, I do love some music and always enjoyed having my own private concert to work by.

Anyway, the band started playing the intro to "Moon River" and the lady in the wheelchair did something that was not expected. She took off her oxygen mask and picked up a microphone. When I tell you that I've never heard a more beautiful, robust, and smooth voice sing, I am telling you the honest truth. Such a magnificent and glorious sound coming from such an unexpected source. I had to stop what I was doing, pick my jaw up off the floor, and fully appreciate the talent I was witnessing.

My Grandmother was 43 when she came to help my mother with her firstborn son. Mama was 21 or 22 when she had my brother and Grandmother traveled in a snowstorm to get to her on his December birthday. Little did my Mama know that, 8 months later, she'd be traveling to help her mother when she'd give birth to her little brother, the following August. With Grandmother well into her 40's and my Grandaddy being 50, and with them having a grandchild, they certainly didn't expect to have any more children. And my mother didn't expect that her first child would become a playmate to her own little brother. I'm sure Grandaddy strutted around at work like a Rhode Island red rooster, for a couple of months, but it wasn't what anyone was expecting to happen.

We've been to a restaurant that looked like a big dump situated about 3 yards from a railroad track with beach towels for curtains, because someone told us it served the best BBQ in the world......and they were right. Unexpected.

I always imagined that both of my parents would live to be a ripe, old age until my big, strong Daddy got sick with cancer and died before my children were even grown. Unexpected.

I've had initial doubts about people, who turned out to be a wonderful friends or just lovely individuals. Unexpected.

I've spent holiday seasons building up my mind's vision of Hallmark Christmas channel scenes, which were never quite realized. Unexpected. 

I have a blog and it's customary that, when you have a blog, you post on a regular basis. Sometimes, blogs sit quiet for a couple of weeks waiting for a blog post, which never comes. Unexpected.

Expectations. We all have them. Expectations about people and life. The way we expect people to act or the way life should be. They're deeply engrained in us. Some are formed from our life experiences and others are spiritual, personal, or societal. Whatever their origin, we gauge our lives by them. They're either unmet, achieved, or exceeded.

God never promised us baby sisters, old parents, or perfect Christmases. He never promised that we'd be able to meet the heavy expectations placed on us or that we wouldn't be disappointed, sometimes, when others failed to meet ours. He did know that there'd be gifts He'd send that would be more than we could ever dream of and there would be blessings that would take us by complete surprise. Life happens on both sides of expectation. The good side and the bad.

What He did promise is that, in those times, when life is showing out and giving us bigger helpings than we could've ever expected to receive, that He's there. And that when things are falling far too short and leaving us unfulfilled and disappointed, well, He'd be there, too, bringing joy and hope to the most unlikely places. He can bring the unexpected out of both and help us to live above and beyond the constraint of our expectations. 

"Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us."  Ephesians 3:20

That means in both joy and disillusionment, He can accomplish more than we could ever imagine or dare to dream.....on whatever side of expectation we find ourselves. He can take us to places that our expectations didn't even know existed.

If we trust Him, we should expect no less.


Happy Day to y'all.