Monday, March 9, 2015

I am a gem.


Every gem has flaws in it. Its beauty and flaws are what make it unique. If you can't handle the flaws then don't invest in the gem.

Do we expect too much from our friends?  I know I do sometimes.  You don't realize what your expectations are in a friendship until one of them isn't met.  Maybe we don't realize it, but we sometimes expect our friends to 
*  make us happy
* support us
* be available for us when we need them
*  dare I say "read our minds"?  (know when we need these things or are expecting the above things without us telling them/asking for them)
*  call us/stay connected with us the way WE want/need to stay connected

When they fail to do the above things (and trust me, they will)  our expectations of them are not met, they "fail us"  and fall off the "important stool"  WE placed them on in our lives.  (someone look at your neighbor and say,  "idol")  People are GOING TO FAIL US.  Though we are gems and have great things to invest in each other's lives, we are gems with flaws and those flaws WILL come out and we can chose to let them bite us in the butt and hurt us, or we can chose to love the gem despite the flaw.

 It's hard to go through life without having expectations of others.  The thing with friendships is that we SHOULD go into a friendship having no expectation to receive anything.  We should be thinking "what can I give this person?"  "How can I be an encouragement to this person"...NOT thinking "What can she give me?"  "How can he encourage/support me?" .  If both sides went into friendships like this and kept it that way, we would not have our expectations crushed so much and, at the same time, we would both receive encouragement but NOT be crushed when the other person lets us down.  

The only person we should place our expectations on/in is the One who can fulfill our every NEED (notice I'm not saying "want"), the one who is a PERFECT FRIEND and that's Christ.  He loved us when we were totally unloveable!  
*  Romans 5:8 " But God showed His love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"  He had NO expectations of receiving ANYTHING from us.

He tells us in Matthew 11:28-30 "Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for  you souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

In whom do you place your expectations?