Unfulfilled Expectations?

Unfulfilled Expectations?

We just got home from a wonderful week of vacation with our younger son, his sweet wife, and their four little ones – ages 7, 5, 3, and 1.  We all went to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, where it was beautiful weather, delightful customer service, exciting experiences, and, for people older than sixty, definite sensory overload.  I think my head still pounds a little from the sights and sounds when I lie down at night.  One of the biggest treats for me, apart from being with our family, was people watching – better than any airport I have ever seen.  There were people from every state, nations across the world, grown adults dressed in Mouse ears, flowers trimmed to look like characters, places to spend money on every corner, bands to play every type of music, boats, planes, and dinosaurs, and just about everything else your mind could conceive.

After spending an entire week in the park, there was one phenomenon that I could not help but notice on a daily basis.  Everyday, people would rush toward the parks at opening bell, with specific focus on their face, a schedule worked out from multiple guidebooks, a dogged determination to get their money’s worth, and an expectation to have fun in the process.  Now, there are some new dangers at the park which I, as a bona fide senior adult feel not only qualified, but also compelled to share with you.  Disney World not only rents doublewide strollers for children, now; they also rent scooters to senior adults.  I realize that these are a godsend to those who are physically disabled; however, I must also mention that many seniors find them more convenient than walking the ten to twelve miles in the park a day.  As a result, there were several times that I felt compelled to launch my body between the motor-happy seniors and my grandchildren, barely refraining from reminding the seniors that Disney really is about the children.

As the day progressed, I noticed that the eager expectation on the faces of people began to change to weariness, indignation, physical pain, exhaustion on the children’s faces, and “stuff” overload.  By nightfall, the same people who were running into the park as the turnstiles opened were barely able to push the turnstiles as they exited.  Children were crying on buses, voices were terse, and the goodwill of the morning expectations had melted into the exhaustion of reality.  I could hear the hurt in parents’ voices as they reminded their children of the sacrifices to be there, of what all they had done that day, of how much more they were doing the next day.  The children were tired, crying, and asking to go home.  Once again, the Griswold family vacation rang true.  Expectations of perfection; dissatisfaction with reality.

Sometimes, I wonder if God shakes His head at us.  He created us, this beautiful world in which we live, placed each of us in the family that surrounds us, and, above all, He loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him could have eternal life.  He never promised perfection, but He did promise strength for the day, to meet our needs for the day, to love us with an everlasting love, to be our sword, our shield, and our defender.  Yet, like those families at Disney World, we tend to enter the day with great expectation and end it with deflated disappointment.

We would do well to consider our days like the Psalmist in Psalm 118:24 – This is the day which the Lord has made.  We will rejoice and be glad in it.

We need to realize that every day is a gift from the Lord God, and we need to receive it, making a conscious decision that rather than whimpering at every challenge, disappointment, or unfulfilled expectation, we choose to rejoice at the gift of God’s goodness and to reflect that gladness to others.  What a joy it was to hear a kind voice, a gentle laugh, or reflective wonder in a voice on the bus headed home from the park each night.  I suspect that same joy would be reflected to others on our way home from work – thanks be to God that we have a job.  It would be an encouragement as we stand in line at the store – praise God for a store with supplies and for money to purchase the goods.  I know that rejoicing and gladness would be welcome at home – what a privilege it is to have a home where we can return each night and greet those who call us theirs. 

This is the day the Lord has made!  Help us, O Father, to rejoice and be glad in it!

© 2011 Gerry Sisk

(04/06/11)