Did you ever make that list in high school or college? That list that had everything you wanted in another person. You know down to the very details. Did you ever find that list years later and think....Ha! There is NO way someone could meet everyone of those details you put on your list.
Oh sure, I have met people along the way who have that fantastic story of that person that meets everything they ever wanted in a best friend/husband/wife. They are the perfect couple, and blah...blah....blah.....
But for the mass majority of us....that list is far from reality. Especially as we get older. Now as I think about that person that I hope is out there...I am amazed at how many guys probably could have worked.
Okay, so it is no prince charming/Cinderella story....but isn't love messy?
Shouldn't it be about that person that challenges us to live a better life, not just the one that we have the most chemistry with...or the one that we find the most pleasing to the eye.
Isn't love about sacrifice, forgiveness, and growing in it every single day?
Okay, I'm not saying that there shouldn't be a connection, and some kind of physical attraction, but I am saying that don't we put too much stock in trying to make that person fit that list. Maybe we are looking at the list so long and trying to match the qualities up that we think that perfect person should have, that we actually miss the person that is right in front of us. Maybe the person that is right in front of us is the one person that is going to be able to break through all the walls, and fear, but we won't give them a chance because they are holding the wrong hammer. Or they aren't holding it the right way, or they don't look right when they are holding it the right way.
Isn't it time for us to put away the expectations that society has for us. Put away the "perfect" version of people that we want to have in our lives, and accept the messy ones that are in our lives. Isn't it time that we allow our hearts to be penetrated by someone that can love us the way Jesus did. Someone that sees our faults, but still wants to be a part of our life. Someone that we might not have everything in common with, but they know how to hold our hand and say a prayer with us. Or they might not be the hottest guy/girl on the block, but they never miss an opportunity to help someone in need.
So maybe he/she doesn't have every single quality that we have looked for, but they have a connection with us that surpasses any we have ever known. They listen to us, and understand us. They challenge us to love in a greater way, and they pray with us. Those are the qualities that I think should surpass all others. Because those are the qualities that are going into eternity.
Expectations seem to ruin a lot of things. Mostly relationships. Maybe God's best for me isn't meeting everything on the "list" because He has things I need to learn apart from my "ideal" relationship.
I sometimes think that if we could lower our expectations, then God could do more. Maybe I'm wrong...but that's how I'm feeling today.
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