Not My Expectation - A Devotional

A few months ago, I was on my way to a court case for work. The meeting was downtown Houston, and I planned to get there 30 minutes early, because to be completely honest, your girl gets a little turned around if she doesn’t have enough time to get lost, find parking, review notes and as my friends like to call it,  have some…“Chalssie meditation time”-- a part of my daily routine in order to get my mind together before different outings, events or meetings. So, I get there and find the perfect parking spot right across the street from the courthouse. I reviewed notes and also, “mediated” with more than enough time to get to the court hearing… So I thought. I proceeded to get out of the car, only to find 20 people standing at the general parking meter. In a panic, I went to the parking attendant and frantically asked, “Do you take cash, because I do not have time to wait. I have a meeting to attend.” Like the rest of the now 20 plus people. The parking attendant said,  to my shock and disappointment, “No!” And proceeds to point to another parking meter across the parking lot that appeared to have less people. So I jog in heels and y’all, there were even more people at that meter. It was raining. And, you guessed it! I had no umbrella, just a leatherback-notepad hovering over my head.

I stand and wait… Not patiently, for my turn. I finally get my ticket, run it back to my car and place it on my dashboard and then dash over to the courthouse just  to find a TSA look-a-like line waiting for me. There were so… many…people… Side note. Have you ever been in a situation where you get so frustrated that you just laugh. That was me. After getting my things off the conveyor belt, I rushed to the directory to find the floor, just to make it there two minutes late which is a big deal, because it’s court.

All I could imagine was the court hearing starting without me, my dramatic entry, and the attorney not being able to  present due to my absence and and us completely losing the case.

As the elevator doors open I advance towards the courtroom doors when I hear someone behind me gently say, “Ms. Robinson!” I turn around and the attorney greets me with the biggest smile, stretches out his hand and says, “It’s great to see you…” I was so relieved that my thoughts were not my reality. If I had known that I would be sitting with the attorney for an hour prior to our court case, catching up on life, sharing stories and encouraging one another, would I have reacted in the way that I did? Would I have responded the same?

Because I was led by my own thoughts and emotions, I allowed the circumstance that I saw dictate my peace. Little did I know what was right in front of me. Prior to me getting to my destination, I assumed that I would be late and the hearings would have been unfavorable because of me; I was not at the right place at the right time. I placed fear over my faith. The truth is there was encouragement waiting for me, even when it appeared that the odds were not in my favor. That day, there was victory waiting for me, not defeat.

How many times, as Children of God, have we allowed our thoughts to run wild, fighting battles in the physical that simply were not made us to fight. The Spirit of God dwells in us. Our paths have already been set before us. It is our job to walk, boldly in our rightful place.

So, over the next few weeks, I invite you to walk with me as we open our hearts to the fruit of the Spirit. Next week, we’ll be talking L-o-v-e.

Let’s live this thing!

With Love,

Chalssie

Galatians 5:22-23