Skip to main content

Hope expectations.

Settling into a new job with new expectations. My expectations and the, some known and some yet to find out, expectations others have of me.

And yet I’m finding the greatest challenge is knowing how to expect hopefully when it comes to those I am there to walk alongside. What do hopeful expectations look like without them being totally coloured by my perspective?

Perspective. The way we see life is coloured by our lives; what we have lived and are living. What does hope look like through my perspective, but more importantly, through the perspective of the ones I am wanting to carry hope for?

Potential. Interacting with people who walk with less hope. Seeing the potential they have which has been quenched by choices they’ve made. Or rather, the potential is there, but the walking fully in it is a different path than the one they have chosen. How do you help them look at themselves not through a lens of failure, but through the lens of hope and possibility?

Patience. I am realising that my hope and my expectation can’t be put on them as a formula for moving forward. For some the only expectation they are able to fulfil is to come and sit. In their journey that is a victory. In their journey that is what takes courage and everything they can muster up the strength to do. And I want to see that. I want to join with them right where they find themselves in the journey of life, and walk at their pace. Standing with them when they stop, cheering them on when they move forward, and seeing the path of hope for them when all they see is mountains in front of them. Giving them the dignity of choosing the pace at which they walk. And giving them the freedom to choose a different path if they want, accepting that the same way as I have freedom to choose how I live my life, they also have the freedom of choice. Even if that is making choices that aren’t good.

And so I find myself in this new assignment, new job, new part of my journey. And I am still figuring out how I do this. How to expect more, while at the same time not burdening with my expectations. How to hope more, while at the same time not making that hope distant and unattainable, but something within reach.

It’s a journey for them, and it is definitely a journey for me. And yet, even with the lack of hope that I see, I have a sneaking suspicion that I am going to walk into more hope than I’ve ever walked in before, because God is a God of incredible hope, and He loves to enter into hopeless situations and turn them around.

Popular posts from this blog

Small moments that mean a lot

Walking home on the crunchy snow that lights up a December evening,  I felt so thankful. The revelation that fellowship and being together is the best gift you can give someone, and realising that although it might seem small, it can turn into something big when a person feels seen and valued.  Yesterday I helped out with a crafts workshop for a group of lovely women volunteering for Crux where I worked before (well, in all honesty: they were making angels while I ate Christmas cookies, Quality Street chocolate, and chatted). I love walking alongside people in conversation, and realise sharing life for 2 hours can last so much longer in value and experience.  This evening we had our Christmas dinner for volunteers and people who are part of my current job. It was a delightful evening with many nations gathered around the same table…. eating the same food… and for a few hours creating a small fellowship moment that will become a good memory for the future. Often in my job ...
Read more

Taking in the familiar and a heart connected.

Amsterdam. It still has that muggy feeling in Summer, and a constant flow of people which if you stop to think about it, it's quite amazing that there would even be space to accommodate them all. But then I guess they are not all staying. Just passing through on their way to or from somewhere. It's always good for the heart to visit somewhere that was once home. The familiarity of streets and customs makes it easier to embrace what might be new as well as the joy of being reacquainted with old friends. Friends. So many of them to be found in this city, ready with hugs and good words that are uttered when seeing someone who was away again. Friendship. A treasure that cannot be bought. Cobblestones trodden by many, including myself. Sitting on a bench. Praying. Remembering the first time I stumbled upon this area lined with windows with red lights and curtains. An area which has come to represent no longer windows, but people to me. Some still behind a window. Others who have ...
Read more

So what is new in Kansas City?

“Not much”, I think is the answer. Although, that’s not quite correct, I’ve had quite an adventurous weekend (in the mildest sense of the word). Let me see, where do I start? Well, Thursday when I last wrote was really good. I got to join with a team for a bit in the evening, which was really good fun and it lifted my spirits as I am totally a team person! The whole week had been quite tense because of adjustments with our household and people coming and going. On Saturday two of the girls I shared with were moving out and since Friday night they were packing, my other housemate and I went shopping. We figured it was easier to not get caught up in the chaos that packing to move houses is. It was fun to go shopping, even if we only went to Wall-Mart and HyVee (big grocery and other thing shops). We got a few bits and pieces for the house to make it more homely and generally just had fun looking at all the stuff they have. We’d decided that when the other girls had moved we’d do a big cl...
Read more