expectations...

Sometimes there are times when I know that I have been spoiled, especially within the church and body of Christ.

One of these times was this week. I spent a week in Grove City, PA with a church plant. I realized how my high expectations are for things, in general, but especially when they are related to God and his work. I went into the trip with an attitude of going and doing things. I really didn't know what those things were going to be, but I wanted to do something, get my hands dirty. But really the trip was about encouraging my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I had the privelege of getting to know the Lewis' (the family that planted the church in Grove City) and the members within the church. I got to go a local college's Christian student organizational meeting, a time of worship and teaching. I was able to sit in the church's youth group stuff. And during the entrire week, all I did was think of ways I would have done things differently, wanting them to be better. And the reason, I think, that I continued to think this way is because I have been blessed to be apart of churches and ministries that have the resources (people, wisdom, monetary, whatever) to do many different things to allow me to know God better. Which I took and caused my mind to have really high expectations. I am not saying that having resources and wanting to do things to cause people to know the Lord better is wrong, I am so thankful for those things. But those are the things that I want for the people that I came in contact with, for them to know the true God and all aspects of His character. But at the same time, I have to get over my way of thinking and see that the Lord works through different people and ways of doing things.

It was such a blessing to be with the Lewis' and the Church at the Crossroads, to learn from them in many different ways and hopefully to encourage them to persevere.