With great expectations can sometimes come great disappointment

There is a slight chance...from time to time....every once in awhile... I can be guilty of what I would like to call the "Clark Griswold" complex. Clark Griswold is of course the main character in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. A character flaw that Clark has is his expectations. Clark doesn't just set high expectations- he boards a rocket (probably coated in a non-nuclear semi-permeable cereal varnish), blasts off towards space, and plants his flag right before he leaves orbit. There is no way any event or person can possibly live up to the expectations he sets.

Are there high expectations in there or a rabid squirrel?

I consider this a character flaw because when you set high expectations for everything you do or everything you are a part of- you will spend a lot of time being disappointed.

A recent example of this was a date Becca and I went on. We had found someone to watch our two boys and we had found someone to watch Brianna. We had a chance to get ready for our date and we were heading off to a new restaurant. Like I usually do, I was trying to figure out what kind of food sounded good to me on our way over there. We arrived at the restaurant to a PACKED parking lot. I'm talking Black Friday morning shopping PACKED. We eventually found a place to park and went in. The wait to eat? 90 minutes. What kind of place that is a sports bar has a 90 minute wait? Instead of being a rational adult and going to the next restaurant, I pouted. I wanted to eat THERE! That was the place I wanted to go. My expectation was to get a table in 15 minutes, have a nice cold beer, and a relaxing dinner with my wife.....on a Friday......during the busiest time of the evening....in a sports bar. See what's wrong with that picture? No WAY was anything there going to be relaxing or quick, but that didn't change my expectations.

I'm not saying today that it isn't good to have high expectations, BUT what I am saying is-it's good to check and see if your high expectations are also realistic ones! 

And this is the big question I am getting at today-

How often do you examine the expectations you have for yourself? For an event? For a class? 

If you expect yourself to get an A in every math class you have but you are BAD at math and don't like it, maybe an A isn't the best expectation to have.

I also feel that a lot of time these unrealistic expectations creep into our spiritual lives.

A sermon illustration I heard growing up still sticks with me to this day. It goes like this.

A man is in an area being ravaged by a hurricane and he begins praying for God to save him. The flood waters beginning rising in his area. A person comes by in their car and asks him if he wants a ride to safety- he declines. The water now is in the first story of his house. A person comes by on a boat to rescue him. He again says NO, I'm waiting for God to save me. Finally, the water is up his roof. A helicopter flies over and they ask if they can rescue him. Again the man declines and he drowns. In Heaven, he asks God why God didn't come to save him. God responds by saying, why didn't you take the car, the boat, or the helicopter?

The reality is, God is doing amazing things in our lives. Everyday. Simple, amazing things. The problem is, we don't always realize it. We are waiting for that big lighting bolt or clear sign in the clouds from God. Well, what if God is speaking to us through a friend's encouraging words?  What if God is working with us through the book we are reading? What if God is blessings us with a clear mind so we can at least get a B in that math class?

God is at work everyday. Now though, the work we see that God does is through people. It's through interactions we have for others.

We can expect God to do great things, but we ALSO need to expect to use the gifts God has blessed us with.

Clark Griswold had a crazy family- He was NEVER going to have a perfect family Christmas. It took his whole house getting destroyed for him to realize that instead of praying for perfection- he needed to see the beauty amidst the chaos. 

I challenge you today to look for the blessings in the beautiful chaos that is our lives. Also, make sure to keep a good check on your expectations. If they aren't possibly attainable- bring them back a little bit. Leave more room for God to work instead of you!