Livin Lively

By Peggy Lively

              We just recently celebrated Mother’s Day, and I have to say I was a little disappointed. It wasn’t much different than any other Sunday with a husband who is in ministry. He was out the door and on the way to church at 7:00 am. He left me a very sweet card expressing his appreciation of me and all I do for our four children. I was thinking to myself, maybe a gift, flowers or something else would come later. Well, it did. After lunch, he gave me another card that all four of my children had signed, “to the best Mom in the world,” and in it was a $5 gift card to Starbuck’s. I thought to myself, “That’s it? After four kids and 13 years of motherhood, I get an expensive cup of coffee?”

            You know, so much of our disappointments in life come from our expectations. In my mind, I was thinking more along the lines of a manicure, pedicure, or flowers. I had even dropped several hints about how nice it would be to have a Blackberry Storm. (Talk about high expectations) So a $5 Starbuck’s gift card fell far short of my expectations. But when I look back and read the cards from my children and my husband, the words are priceless. And I know that I will treasure them in my heart long after my Café Mocha is gone.

            Naaman in the Bible also had some unmet expectations. Who is Naaman? “Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.” (II Kings 5:1)

            Naaman had heard reports about the prophet Elisha, and had been told that he could heal him of his leprosy. So he got permission from the King to seek out Elisha in order to be healed. When Naaman arrived at Elisha’s house, “Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, ‘Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.’ ” (II Kings 5:10)

            Well, this wasn’t at all what Naaman had expected. It says, “Naaman went away angry and said, ‘I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?’ So he turned and went off in a rage.” (II Kings 5:11-12) By Naaman’s response, you would have thought that Elisha refused to heal him altogether. Naaman was angry about how he chose to heal him; it involved action and humility on his part.

            If it wasn’t for the encouragement of Naaman’s servants, Naaman may have never followed through. “Naaman’s servants went to him and said, ‘My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” (II Kings 5:13)

            So Naaman reluctantly obeyed, dipping himself in the Jordan River seven times. As he did, “his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.” Naaman almost let his expectations rob him of his miraculous healing.

            We can learn from Naaman the importance of not letting our unmet expectations steal our joy or prevent us from experiencing God’s blessing. God’s ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9) so we must trust that He has purpose in the process. It might just involve action and humility on our part. God can work the miraculous in our lives, but it is how sometimes that may surprise us. Don’t miss out on His blessing!