Hello, Friday. I’m so very glad you’re here, ESPECIALLY this Friday because HELLO, SUMMER BREAK. I’m joining Kate Motaung and friends for Five Minute Friday, when we get a prompt and write for five minutes. Like a brain dump. Like a flash mob. Just write.
This week the prompt is EXPECT.
Ready, set, go …
I had hoped my kids – 9 years, 6 years, 8 months – would sleep in for the first day of Summer Break, but I didn’t really expect them to.
Hope. Expect.
These words are so similar, but I was thinking about how different they can be, depending on what I’m putting my hope in.
Putting hope in my 6-year-old boy who loves to rise with the sun and the moment he hears anyone else stirring and my 8-month-old girl who has decent but unpredictable nighttime sleeping length isn’t wise. I knew that, so I didn’t expect to sleep past 7 a.m.
My husband got up with Rachel at 6 a.m. and Ben soon followed down the stairs. They woke me at 6:45 a.m., when Greg needed to get in the shower for work. So my husband who knew I wanted a little extra sleep helped some of my expectations be met, but, even so, it was just the best he could do given the circumstances.
On the contrary, we can put our hope in God because he promises to finish what he’s started (Phil. 1:6) and work all things for the good for those who love him (Romans 8:28). We can wait expectantly because he’s not influenced by when the sun rises or what other people are doing. We can believe in what we cannot see because that’s the essence of faith that gives us hope – real hope, the kind of hope we can expect to make a difference.
So, welcome, Summer Break, may our togetherness be full of happy messes, limited sibling pestering, and fun adventures. And, yes, I’m still hoping my kids embrace the summer sleep schedule soon, even if my expectations are low.
And stop.
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