Clinging to the expected

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The last 48 hours at our house could be summed up with 1 word: unexpected.

Nothing major, and a good variety ranging from potentially-amazing to, "Oh wow. That actually happened."

At either end of the spectrum and everywhere in-between, we had expected something different. If we had been clinging to our expectations, we could have missed the great stuff and had a really hard time with the not-great stuff. 

After the first couple of unexpected occurances (yep, it usually takes me a minute to catch on) I found that a really helpful shift was to think of them as "bonus experiences." The negative bonuses made for 1) really good stories, and 2) opportunities for connection that might have been possible but definitely not as easy otherwise. And the positive ones somehow tasted even sweeter.

God definitely does work in mysterious ways. Having our best-laid plans is important, but being open and accepting those bonuses stretches us in new and powerful ways. I can honestly say that, while initially harder, they opened me up for more connection, inspiration, and joy.

All of which I’ll take any time I can get them.