Let Go of Your Expectations

Sometimes our expectations are rigid. Then things don't turn out as planned, and we freak.

Take my crochet baggie holder. It's a good example. Really.

This is what it was supposed to look like, in theory. Isn't it cute? Doesn't it look easy?

It's a simple pattern--rows of single crochets. The pattern is even listed as easy. You'd think I could handle that, but I somehow increased each row and wound up with something resembling a bowl.

As first I thought I could start decreasing and make a crochet baggie holder ball. But when I took what I had so far to my crochet group, the idea didn't sound so good. My crochet ball looked stupid. Ridiculous.

And I was just about to tear the whole thing apart when one lady, a genius really, said:

"Why don't you make a hat?"

I was dumbfounded. You mean this whopping mistake could become something useful and beautiful? I hadn't wasted X amount of time just to have to start over?  (I'm not going to tell you how long it took, because it's kind of pathetic.)

I added four rows of white and some tassels at the top. Isn't it cute?

NOTE: I FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE AND NOW THE HAT IS IN IT'S NEW HOME.

What's more, I'm donating it to a homeless shelter for use by a child or a woman with a very small head.

And the moral of the story?

Let go of your expectations. We want things to turn out the way we intend, forgetting that there is a God who has plans for us. BIG plans. If we'd only let go, we could see what those plans are.

His plans are always for good, maybe even our good. He can turn a disaster (like, say, a crochet baggie holder ball) into a gift (a hat for the homeless). Doesn't that make the unexpected exciting?

What are some plans and projects of yours that haven't turned out as expected, but even better?