Expectations...Trust...Loyalty...Grace

 Expectations:  the act or the state of expecting, to wait in expectation.  I have really thought about what the true meaning of this word means as it applies to my life.  There was a time when I would place expectations on people and then get mad when they did not meet them.  I had no idea I was doing this until a really good friend of mine pointed it out.  I called her one day in tears and was explaining to her why another friend of ours had wronged me.  Much to my surprise she did not sympathize with me, but instead she gently told me were I had some wrong thinking.  I was prepared to get mad at her as well...how dare she not take my side and listen to my grievances!!  Then as I listened to what she was saying I suddenly began to realize that she was right.  If I were to keep placing expectations on people in the long run I would end up a very unhappy person.  In other words I was setting up other people to fail, giving me a reason to be disappointed with them.  My job in relationships is to meet other people half way.  If they don't do what I think they should  it is not the end of the world.  As long as I keep myself right with God and give all my relationships to Him then life will run a lot smoother.  I can't control what others do or think, but I can control me...The the first step into setting the foundation of relationships is trust. Which is the confident expectation of something to hope for.  In order to trust someone else I needed to let go of expectations that threatened to ruin a friendship.  I believe the next layer in the foundation of relationships is loyalty.  Loyalty means to be faithful in commitments and obligations.  Basically, to be loyal is like a dog to it's owner.  To have a dog like loyalty means going the extra mile and doing things without being asked.  The last but maybe not the final layer I would like add is grace.  Grace is to give undeserved favor to someone.  Who knew that keeping and maintaining friendships  would be so hard and yet rewarding at the same time. I believe the most important ingredient is keeping God in the center of everything that you do.  He will walk with you in every step of the journey in your life.  He will place people in lives that will build you up and tear you down (which just makes you stronger if you let it). I look forward to getting to know everyone who He places in my life...They are a blessing that I need to be thankful for.  Now as I look back to the conversation I had with my friend.  I now realize even as some the words she spoke to me were hard to hear they needed to be said.  I thank you Inis Fox my amazing friend, for helping me understand what God has been telling me along. Thank you for loving me enough to speaking His truth.  To help me see how much He loves me so, I can love as He loves. Give undeserved favor as He has given it to me.  Just my 2cents, Missie

Missing The Presence of God

Let me ask you a question...before you give a ready answer, take a moment and look deep inside of you and ponder your answer before you give it.  Do you ever feel like you are in a dry season?  A season where you don't feel the presence of the Lord?  Where you know that He is there but you ask yourself is He really  there.  That is where I am at.  I know that I am loved and that God is there  for me. At times I wonder where He is at...I mean I see Him in all areas of my life and the life of others.  Yet I feel disconnected.  Then the verse from Romans 8:29 comes to me, nothing can separate me from God.  When I first read this verse I did not fully understand it.  I was thinking that my sin could separate me from Him. Which in a sense it can but, I am doing the separating not Him.  When I understood this then a sense of peace came over me, God never leaves us, He is always waiting for us to return to Him. His love for us is unconditional and never ending.  So in the times of a dry season I think that as long as you recognize it for what it is then things will be fine.  Now that I have recognized what is happening my feeling of disconnect is actually turning into anticipation.  I can seek the Lord and ask Him to show me the areas in my life that is keeping me from His presence.  Then my next prayer request is the answer that is given I receive it with an open heart.  My encouragement to you is that as you go through dry seasons just know that God is with you and for you. Take heart and know the season will pass and everything will be okay.  Just my 2cents, Missie