When my oldest girls were a little younger than they are now, they went into McDonald’s with a disappointing experience. Monica had been singing to her young children the nursery song “Old McDonald Had a Farm”. They loved the song and would sing it for hours on end.
One morning, without considering the implications, Monica told them that they were going to McDonalds for lunch. They were filled with excitement and she was pleased to have planned a nice day for the girls. On the way to the big lunch, she listened as her children began to talk about what they hoped to find at McDonald’s. Would they see a cow? Would they see a chicken? Maybe even some sheep! When Monica pulled into the parking lot of the famous fast food restaurant, the children began to cry. They thought that they were going to the farm.
Each of us can remember times when we have expected one outcome and received another. During redeployment, realities often fall short of our expectations. The people around us mean to do well, but miss the mark because they don’t understand our expectations. The reverse is also true. Communication, therefore, is important to managing our expectations. The Bible says, “be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” (James 1:19, NLT) We need to take time to listen to our loved ones, and be open in sharing our needs as well. The passage does not say “do not speak”; it simply says “be slow to speak”. The point being that we need to listen first before we begin to talk. We also need to be slow to get angry. Let us be careful in being patient to those around us. When we listen and communicate our needs, we will understand the expectations of those around us, and experience the happy fulfillment of shared expectations.
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