High Expectations

<This post was written on Wednesday, February 9. It is being posted now that I have returned from the trip mentioned below.>

I left the house today with high expectations. Today, those high expectations had to do with my socks.

Yes, socks.

I'm wearing cute socks today. This isn't an uncommon occurrence, I often wear cute socks. But there was a special reason I wore cute socks today... cuz I knew other people might be able to see them. I'm flying to California today (for work, not play...bummer) and as I was getting dressed this morning I made sure that I put on my cute socks so that others could admire them when I had to take off my shoes to go through security at the airport. You see, people don't often have the opportunity to see my cute socks, leaving me the only one that can take joy in their cuteness.

But today as I got dressed I thought, "With this one simple act I could brighten someone's day! I could make them smile!"

I didn't realize at the time how much pressure I'd put on my socks considering they only had about 2 minutes to change the world.

But, I left the house with high expectations.

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The topic of expectations has been on my mind a lot lately and it all started with a grapefruit.

This one to be exact:

It had come hand-delivered to me straight from Arizona. It just doesn't get any fresher than that this time of year. And it was one of the biggest grapefruit I'd ever seen. It smelled wonderful.

I cut into it, so excited to taste my first grapefruit of the season and was extremely disheartened to see this:

Don't get me wrong, I still ate the thing, but at the time I felt like I'd been duped.

It was, though, one of the sweetest and best things I'd ever eaten.

And it was because of this experience that a realization came to me. Just because God doesn't bless you with the wonderful things you expect doesn't mean He isn't going to bless you with wonderful things.

Some of my dear friends have had really hard and trying experiences over the last few months, though, and I think about them all the time. We, as a people, expect that we won't ever lose our house to fire, or that every toddler will grow up to be a grandparent. We expect to be loved and we expect to give love in return.

But just because God doesn't bless us with the things we expect doesn't mean he doesn't bless you in ways you never could've expected.

So, I'm trying to remember that as challenges come and go. As opportunities come and go. As the good, the bad, and the ugly comes and goes.

And as cute socks come and go...

And remember, sometimes those with the thickest skin have the sweetest centers.