Trading Idealism for Surprise

Ever find yourself angry when someone did not do what they were "supposed" to do or be who they were "supposed" to be?

Whether it's a relationship with one person, your whole family or even your church family, there's bound to come trouble and disappointment.

I was recently asked how I had discovered peace given my own disappointments and struggles.  I was encouraged because this meant the person sensed peace in me where they had not before!  The truth is, peace began to fill me when I started practicing letting go of the way I had pictured things.  When I loosened my grip on demanding things and people to be how I wanted them to be, I was in  for a surprise!

Guess what happened?  Scales fell from my eyes and I began to see how God was providing for me in ways I simply could not see when I was demanding how, when, and who.  When I shifted from feeling angry and filled with bitter disappointment when "how, when and who" did not come through it was like the moment in Genesis 28:16 when Jacob exclaims, "“You were here all the time, and I never knew it!" 

We all have idealistic pictures as to how our life and relationships should look.  
This comes as no surprise, our culture schools us in desire and what it should look like so we pursue and learn to create illusion. This is especially true during holidays or important life events and stages.  We have expectations.  We long for the perfect experience or outcome. 

Actually, the core desire in the idealism is usually good.  At the core I find the longing to give and receive love in all its forms from belonging to delighting.  It's what we do with the desire as to whether or not it leads to life (and peace).  As I observe my own life and the lives of others, here are some places we can go with desire so it remains life-giving:

We can lament.
The process of letting go of what we desired and pictured is difficult.  God knows this, it's one reason why there are laments in the Psalms.  In a perfect world, our relationships and society would not be so filled with wounded people wounding people (including ourselves). When we do not have the deep relationship we wish we had with a person or the co-workers we pictured, the church we desired or the family gatherings we had hoped for, we can allow ourselves to name, express and feel the loss.  

We can let go.
From small, daily letting go to larger, deeper letting go, the smaller ones prepare us for the larger.  For example, take Psalm 27:10, "Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close."  Who exclaims such a thing?  Someone who has experienced God's steadfast love in the small betrayals and so trusts God in the big ones.  This person recognizes that when others cannot provide, God can.  Can you relate to others being unwilling or unable to come through? Just like the Psalmist, we can begin to release our stranglehold, our white-knuckled clutch, on whoever or whatever is not giving us what we want, need or pictured.  We can transfer the people, situations and ourselves into the hands of God.  

We can be on the lookout.
Perhaps one reason the text in Luke 17:21 can be translated either the Kingdom is "within or among you" is because both are true!  When I let go of demanding a particular person or group meet my need then I am freed up to see how God is providing everything I need.  It could arise within me or come through other people or parts of the created world I did not expect.  Recognizing the ways the Spirit of Love is speaking from within ourselves takes practice. Yet sometimes when life is particularly overwhelming, no matter how strong our spiritual life, we are unable to access the Kingdom of God within us.  This is when the Body of Christ (when functioning as intended) can step in and offer the steadfast, creative love of God.  

May we allow lament and letting go of the way we pictured things to clear our eyes and create space that we may see and receive the Kingdom of God.
    

• What idealistic "pictures" are you hanging onto today? 
• How tightly are you holding on?  Let your hands reflect it (i.e. clenched fists).
• Will you allow yourself to slowly open your hands and let go of how you pictured things?

---