(Great) Expectations

Most of the posts thus far have been a recounting of events, with perhaps a bit of commentary. This one is mainly processing. 

For me, this hike was one of the most challenging times of the entire trip.  Definitely the most demanding physically, and one of the most demanding spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.  On the way down to Beng, I was able to process as I went, and came up with a lot of spiritual parallels.  It was amazing to me how my helper was ready and more than able to guide me through the difficult areas of the journey.  And there were a couple of times when he had his eye on me even when I did not think that it was a difficult situation.  He was ready to save me from danger, even danger I was unaware of.  And, as I mentioned before, we fell into rhythm, so that all I had to do was reach back with my hand and he would take it.  Once we made it to Beng and I thought the trip was nearly over, I referred to my helper as "my Jesus," because I didn't think I would have made it without him. 

However, as it turns out, I did have to make it without him, all the way back to Geoff and Shannon's house.  And, really, at times it was misery. 

When I think back, I realize that part of the issue is what I expected versus what really happened.  I expected to come back to the house after church and lunch in Mibu.  Instead we left before nine and returned after five.  I expected a challenging hike that lasted a max of 45 minutes there and 45 minutes back.  And then I expected that once I got to Beng, we would be home soon.

Expectations came into play again later in the trip when we were about to leave PNG for a couple of days in Australia.  As is often the case (we found out), the flight out of Madang was delayed, which made us miss the connecting flight to Brisbane in Port Moresby.  So, instead of a night in the Rendevous Hotel in Brisbane, Australia, Kris, Gary, Kevin, Lori, and I ended up in a hotel in Port Moresby.  Now, if that had been the expectation from the beginning, great.  The hotel was nice, and we got to spend some time together, which was the plan for Brisbane.  We did experience a few more snafus, which included Lori and I experiencing three different rooms in the space of 18 hours. 

But I think our response and our reactions aren't so much to the circumstances, but to the expectations we have for those circumstances.  It wasn't so much that the team spent a night in Port Moresby, but that we expected to be in Brisbane instead.  It wasn't even so much that we were on a difficult hike, but that that was nowhere on our radar, and as we continued on the hike, more seemed to be added to our plate.  No more helpers, rain, no water (unless you count said rain), a skirt to impede progress, and the climbing...the constant climbing up those inclines. 

At the end of the hike, I was exhausted, mentally and physically.  But a great deal of that was due to my expectations, not to the circumstances. 

Sometimes as Christians, I think we expect God to make our life one of ease and fun.  Nowhere is that mentioned in the Bible, and actually, the NT shows clearly that the early church experience was nowhere near that.  When our expectations do not line up with reality, we often blame God for our circumstances, when the main issue is with our expectations.