There is a lot that we expect from life. From ourselves. From each other. We have lots of plans for different aspects of our lives, and many of those expectations are in regards to people. We have an idea of how we want things to play out.

And they nearly never work out the way that we expect them to.

I believe that too many times we expect that someone will change for us. Or they will make us happy. Or they will be the same person that they were a year ago. But they never can live up to the person we anticipate them to be. Because how can someone be a person that you have orchestrated in your mind?

The point is that a person is just a person and it is unfair to assume that they are anything more than that.

The worst part is that more times than not, we blame them for not being the person that we wanted them to be. While all they were being was themselves, that was not enough for us. That's pretty rotten if you ask me.

Because the truth is that life is not a reel of expectations that play out in our minds. It is the beautiful work of God playing out before our eyes, and sometimes his plans do not coordinate with the expectations of our lives. That our expectations can be false. And leading us down a path that is not right for us. And what happens when those expectations are not reached? We become disappointed. And upset. And wonder why things aren’t the way we thought they would be. Maybe it is because I am not in control of the world around me. And that is okay.

What I am in control of is my thoughts and perception of the world around me.

This is not to say that we should not have high goals for our lives. Or standards for the way we are treated. But we should not expect that the people surrounding us will all adhere to those standards. Or that reaching our goals will be an easy or worthwhile task. But rather that we should learn to roll with the punches. To understand that when we do not have unfair expectations, we cannot be let down.

For we cannot expect our happiness to come from others. Our happiness comes from the Lord, and that joy is found within us. Once that bliss is found, there is nothing we cannot do. Because we understand that He loves us more than we could ever imagine, and that is really all I need.