Today in church, while community life/announcements were being made, my 1.5ish year old daughter – Colbie – was quietly coloring, as usual, as we bring a magic-ink marker with the special paper each week, and she also enjoys grabbing one of the provided pencils and connection cards and drawing on it.
I watched as Colbie looked into the rack in front of us where Bibles or hymnals typically go, and then she peered down into it and reached in to grab a green crayon. It must have been left there weeks or even months ago from one of the Kids’ bags provided on the first weekend of each month when kids attend church with their parents/guardians instead of having a separate lesson/worship time.
Anyway, when this little girl found that crayon and grasped it to pull it out, she happily squealed and was beaming so much that her eyes nearly squinted shut. Then, of course, she eagerly began drawing with the crayon and it was her treasured utensil for the remainder of service.
It struck me as adorable, of course, but I quick captured a photo because it gave me a reflection on the spot…
Colbie has many, MANY crayons at home. She has broken quite a few of the typical sized ones, so she also has a case of larger ones for smaller humans to hold better and without breaking in half. Sometimes, Colbie purposely throws her crayons on the floor or gets frustrated when her older brother is able to use other kinds of art materials – such as markers or paints – without supervision whereas she can only do so under her mom’s watchful eye haha. The point is, Colbie does not typically consider crayons as treasures. At all. What made this one so special?
While a good hypothesis would be to say that it’s because it was the only one, so perhaps it was special in the sense that there weren’t as many around to take for granted, there was ALSO only one marker. There was ALSO only one pencil. Being the only one wasn’t unique.
What made the crayon her treasure for the morning was the fact that it was unexpected.
Unexpected blessings are some of the very best blessings, aren’t they? Maybe we weren’t even actively looking or striving for something and it seemingly falls right into our laps. We can hardly believe it sometimes, and we are awed at the Lord’s over-the-moon goodness to us.
But the thought makes me wonder what it is that hinders that childlike sense of thrill, excitement, and even squealy gratitude when we are given the blessings that are often taken for granted. Those which, if we are honest, we EXPECT of God.
I think many would hesitate to say that we EXPECT earthly or material blessings from God. We know how that sounds. Do we trust Him to care for us? …Yes, that’s a “safe” admission. Do we expect Him to keep the promises He has made to us in His Word? …Of course! We will gladly or even proudly state that we have those “expectations” of God. But the idea that we expect Him to meet our worldly desires?! Why of course not! (I say, tongue in cheek).
The thing is, if we could look deep into ourselves, I think we would find that we DO expect God to meet our own worldly and fleshly desires. To answer our prayers in the way we think is best. To meet our demands and expectations.
Here’s how I know we do so…
When we experience extra blessing – and by that I mean literally anything that is above meeting our “basic” and essential needs for the day – we don’t think twice about it. We feel we are entitled to such abundance through our own hard work or efforts. Worse, we can neglect to even “see” that we are so abundantly blessed and even whine and pine about what we do not have – the long list of things we still desire!
We all have areas in our life like this. It’s best to admit it and pray over it. For me, it’s usually related to our family or home. It would be nice to have a larger bathroom, for the kids to have larger rooms, perhaps a nice covered front porch someday like I’ve always dreamed of having…
Don’t get me wrong – Nothing is wrong with such desires, dreams and drives. In fact, I think humans are created with a desire to create and better ourselves and the world around us, and that incentive or drive is a very good and healthy thing. And nothing is wrong AT ALL with sharing your hopes and dreams with the Lord! What is wrong is when we EXPECT God to give us these things in such a way that we feel entitled and even slighted when they don’t come to fruition, or – when they do – we don’t see them as blessings at all. After all, they were expected, and perhaps we think that God kind of owes us these things for being His faithful children. Right?
I struggle with expected vs. unexpected. What is okay to expect of God when it comes to the things of this world? Frankly, and contrary to what many would like to believe, it is not much when it comes to that which is tangible. It’s not even much in a relational sense. We are never guaranteed prosperity in the material sense or the closest of bonds with everyone on earth once we have taken up our cross and decided to follow Jesus. (Sorry to break it to you, fellow people-pleasers.) Often times, it will look much the other way.
So why do we seemingly expect so much of God when it comes to meeting our worldly desires? The ways of the world are a strong influence and acknowledging that battle between the flesh and the spirit is important and crucial in a healthy walk with the Lord.
I wonder… what if we shift such perspectives? Expect EVERYTHING from God in the spiritual and eternal sense. (He gave His Son and we also gain the Holy Spirit when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. What else could we ask?) Yet… expect NOTHING when it comes to the material.
I am not saying not to trust that God will provide and care for you. Please don’t misunderstand.
What I am saying or wondering… what if we choose to expect less, in such a way that even what others would consider “small” blessings or provisions would give us such a sense of gratitude and delight in our Lord? That they would remind us of His abounding love for us, even when others would quite literally take the exact same things for granted or even scoff at how puny they seem.
Gratitude for what your body is able to do today, gratitude for the healthy and strong relationships you do have, gratitude for the areas of life where you can freely choose (what to eat for lunch, what to wear today, which hobby to enjoy), gratitude for every single way God speaks and moves in your heart and in your life.
It often takes a disaster, hardship or loss to realize how big the “little things” really are. Let’s allow the Lord to teach us this lesson in a softer way, if possible. Choose to re-evaluate your honest expectations of God. Choose to see everything He provides as a gift. To see relationship with Him and salvation itself as the incredible gift that it is. Are your eyes open to all the many ways God has blessed you today? Knowing Him is top of the list.
I know the Lord has helped me to maintain a perspective like this quite often, but sometimes stress or worries or, if I’m honest, the fleshly piece of me just gets in the way and muddies it up for a bit.
May your heart rejoice as if every blessing were truly unexpected. That you can more fully see the goodness and glory and grace of our God – in all the good things and even in those more difficult.
It is even better than a stray green crayon in a church pew. I promise.
Psalm 9:1,
HLC
sacred strokes 