Expecting the unexpected….

I’m not entirely sure where this blog is going to end up, I only hope that I can write it somewhat close to what is going on in my thoughts. As it is quite challenging to be able to write thoughts down for others to read and make sense of, so here goes……

The past few weeks have been a mixture of fun school holiday activities with my 9 year old, the usual housework and study. Oh and maybe one blog or two? This past week I spent an afternoon/evening with my eldest son and my granddaughter.  Whenever my son rings me to catch up I never take it for granted. After he got married and he and his wife had a baby they have been very busy setting up their own little family. This son was the first one to fly the nest. Whenever I get a call to catch up I always take it as an unexpected surprise, given that he lives quite a drive away from where I am and he is a very busy young man. Spending time with him and my granddaughter always puts a smile on my face like nothing else can.

UNEXPECTED….. This is the main idea I want to centre around and write about from my own journey in a positive light.

Unexpected surprises!

Wouldn’t we all love to have more of those special moments? We may believe the unexpected surprises don’t  come around all that often however if we narrow those moments down a little and forget about the ‘Oprah’ kind of surprises,   we will be surprised to find out that  unexpected moments in any given day happen more than we realise.

Don’t you just love it how kids are so full of expectation; they are innocent and have not been tarnished by the struggles of life just yet. By the time you are an adult you realise that to expect anything amazing to happen is just fantasy most of the time. As an adult you get bogged down with bills, chores, work, study, kids, marriage, shopping, bills, kids, chores, bills, bills, obstacles and so forth.

Unless you have a big large treasure chest of money in the bank$$$ it is all about juggling and priorities. I certainly don’t have a big treasure chest except for perhaps an illustration in one of Camerons books! Let’s face it life CAN and DOES get draining at times. There are so many demands on families these days to keep up with life financially, emotionally, relationally and physically.

This is why we need to remind ourselves of the unexpected surprises! Ones that are realistic of course, perhaps even more valuable than winning a car in a raffle.

During the past few years I have begun to take notice of the unexpected moments and surprises. I treasure them. For me these unexpected surprises can mean something as simple as spotting a beautiful flower in the garden that I had never planted or seen during the time we have lived here in this particular house. It immediately puts a big smile on my face as that random beautiful flower sends me a message of the unexpected. It gives me hope that in the midst of life’s challenges good things can come out of them.  I would love life to be amazing every day but it isn’t.

Which is why we need to remind ourselves….as I am reminding you right now 😀

When I was still a teenager I had an unexpected surprise after going through years of loneliness and confusion. I simply had no idea where I was headed or what the purpose of my life was? I struggled with depression, low self-esteem, negativity and on and on I could go with all the hard stuff.

Then one day at work the unexpected happened and to cut a long story short I ended up in a church of all places. I grew up declaring that I would never go to a church or marry a Finnish man. I did both!

Unless you have had your own personal experience my unexpected moment may not touch you quite the same way it did me, but this particular evening as I sat there in this church I felt as though someone had come along and opened my eyes. The more I listened to the message the more my heart was melting to the truth that I was not alone, that there was a God who loved me and even had a purpose for my life. I eventually ended up going to a youth group at the Finnish church and was unexpectedly surprised as I felt such a strong pull towards giving my heart to the one that created me. No longer did I feel so desperately lonely, I had someone on my side who had been there along.

About six years ago I got to go back to Finland with my mum, dad, three sisters and their husbands, my youngest child and my nieces and nephews, it was a big group travelling together to go and visit the country that my parents and I were born in. Finland took me by surprise. I was amazed as to how connected I felt despite the reality that I had been living in Australia since I was five months old.

There are so many unexpected moments I could tell you about and I am most certain you have your own unexpected stories, the ones that mean the most to you.

When we consciously stop for a minute and start to think about the ‘unexpected’ we may find ourselves surprised as to the sheer number of them. The unexpected is not about winning lottery, or raffles it is about appreciating the everyday moments we can so easily walk past.

Even a simple smile from a stranger can be unexpected these days as not so many feel like smiling anymore. It can be a simple thankyou from someone. There are no limits to these unexpected surprises.

For me right now it is Monday, and often you hear people joking about Monday..itis etc… It is usually not the most favourite day of the week in general. With a new week ahead putting all challenges aside for a moment ‘remind yourself of those unexpected surprises’. How they made you feel and take that thought into the week ahead and LOOKOUT for some new unexpected moments. They are out there, we only need to be reminded to see them to appreciate them.

 

Here’s hoping that this week’s blog puts an unexpected week for you into motion,

God Bless.

♥