of serenity. This past spring, I had a nice encounter with a man who had hiked the Appalachian trail. I was helping at a continuing education event and we were discussing the expectations of the group that would be attending. He shared the quote, "expectations are the enemy of serenity" with me. He had met a man on the trail who had shared this quote with him. Dreams, hopes and expectations.
Is it bad to have expectations? What is the difference between dreaming, hoping and expecting?
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Under achieve and you will
RECEIVE! What? I recall a friend sharing frustration that the basketball team he helped coach had a winning record. The football team at the same college had a losing record. However, the football team received all the goodies- extra money, nicer facilities, nicer equipment, etc. He said, it's the philosophy that if you "under achieve you will receive." After I heard that, many different circumstances and people came to mind. For several years, this statement helped me better understand my irritation with injustice.
Today, I had an aha moment. I was participating in a Sunday morning bible study and we reviewed how great is God's love. That led to the parable of the prodigal son. My focus had always been on the son in this story. Today, my focus was shifted to the brother. The brother was rightfully upset about his Father's decision to welcome his brother, who made many poor financial and behavioral choices, right back into the family as if nothing had been done. However, Jesus made clear that we should celebrate this type of incident...as it pertains to the kingdom of God.
The truth is, from God's perspective, we all underachieve. I am a big underachiever when it comes to God's view of good deeds. I need grace. God's grace is hard to understand. It doesn't make sense. It is not fair. That is the kind of grace I need.
I realized today that when I experience injustice...people receiving what they have not earned... I should be happy for them. Even more though, I should be reminded of how great grace is... the kind of grace that we all need. The kind of grace I need.
Today, I had an aha moment. I was participating in a Sunday morning bible study and we reviewed how great is God's love. That led to the parable of the prodigal son. My focus had always been on the son in this story. Today, my focus was shifted to the brother. The brother was rightfully upset about his Father's decision to welcome his brother, who made many poor financial and behavioral choices, right back into the family as if nothing had been done. However, Jesus made clear that we should celebrate this type of incident...as it pertains to the kingdom of God.
The truth is, from God's perspective, we all underachieve. I am a big underachiever when it comes to God's view of good deeds. I need grace. God's grace is hard to understand. It doesn't make sense. It is not fair. That is the kind of grace I need.
I realized today that when I experience injustice...people receiving what they have not earned... I should be happy for them. Even more though, I should be reminded of how great grace is... the kind of grace that we all need. The kind of grace I need.
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