Driven Expectations! Write the Vision!

Expectations

I used to get perturbed when others didn’t have the same drive that I had about a particular goal. I wanted them to have the same passion as I had and just couldn’t wrap my brain around it if they didn’t. After all it was a great idea, so why shouldn’t they be excited, right? Wrong! We are individuals, uniquely created by God for a purpose! Due to life and its circumstances, we may view the importance or value of a goal differently. Does this make it wrong or does it make us different.

There is an order. A shepherd/pastor is given a vision by God and he shares it with the people. We the congregants are the vision carriers. All of the flock may not agree. Some will catch on immediately, some eventually and some never will. It is the same as individuals. We may be the leaders of a team and have an idea. We may expect the members to have the same drive and enthusiasm about a goal as we do but it may not always be so. Just as when David came to the brook at Besor (read --1 Samuel 30:10), we have to take with us, those that are willing to go and leave the others behind. If God said it, then it is so. Don’t allow naysayers to block the vision.

Driven

I come from a family of strong driven women with high expectations. My father’s mother graduated from college in 1928 and taught school for 38 years. She was strong and determined to make a difference in the lives of others. She would often refer to God as her father and spoke of Him as if she had a personal relationship with him. As a child I could not understand why she felt that she could speak to Him directly and He would hear and answer her. She and my grandfather were a formidable force. Together they could do anything and they were a shining example of what can be accomplished when you put God first and strive toward the mark.

My mother’s mother was a midwife at Womack army hospital. She was very compassionate. Her priority was family. She would prepare dinner every weekend and expect her entire family to come by to sit and eat. She taught me many lessons on how to be a successful, classy woman and to strive toward myr goals no matter the circumstances. She was a staunch catholic and prayed every night on her knees until the day she died at age 84.

My mother was and is driven. She married my father as soon as they graduated from high school and had my sister her sophomore year. She still pledged Delta Sigma Theta, graduated on time and was the valedictorian of her class at Fayetteville State University. I watched her prepare the meals, pay the bills, clean the house and still drive to Greensboro weekly while working full time to complete her doctorate in Education. She always took us to church and spoke of putting God first in your life. I didn’t understand it when I was young, but the importance of GOD in my life was instilled in me by each of these women in a different way.

My sister was chosen to receive a full scholarship to a prep school called Chatham Hall when she was in high school. She went on to UNC-Chapel Hill where she received her PhD in Psychology. Being ten years her junior, my teachers would always say, you are Sabrina’s sister. I know you are smart like her. I in turn had to prove myself because of the legacy that I was following.

Driven Expectations: Write the Vision

I placed high expectations on myself for that was what was always expected. There was no excuse. I was expected to be driven to accomplish whatever the goal was. I had no choice. I was blessed to be friends with other girls that had high expectations as well. Donna, Vanessa and I were in the same classes. We competed among ourselves, striving to be the best. We were driven because our parents expected it of us and thus we expected it ourselves.

I have tried to implant these same values in my girls. I want them to want it themselves. To strive for excellence on their own. To want to be the best because they can. I firmly believe that we become what we speak. We have to speak positively over ourselves and our children. Last night my 12 year old said that she had decided what she wanted to be when she grew up. I told her to research it and write the vision. Write the goal and plan for what she wants to be. She took the time and wrote it all down and put it in her binder so she can look at it and see it.

That’s something that we all can do. If you haven’t reached the goal that you set for yourselves, it’s not too late. It’s not about your past. It’s not about what you USED to be, but about what you are SUPPOSED to be. NEVER EVER give up on your vision. Habakkuk 2:2 says “Write the vision, make it plain! “ I dare you today to write your vision down. It may seem odd but it really isn’t’ too late. What has been nagging at you? Has it been to open that book store? Finish that degree? Write that book? Whatever it is, start! Start by writing it down. If you need a push, give me a call. We can push forward together.

**Picture - David’s Victory over the Amalekites! He was driven! He took back all that was stolen from him.