I read a book by Anne Lamott last week that left we with a couple thoughts I can’t shake that I thought might be worth sticking in your craw as well before interacting with a lot of family this Thanksgiving and Christmas season.

The first quote is: “Expectations are resentments under construction.”

I definitely agree that unrealistic expectations will invariably lead to the hardening of our hearts towards others. In the same way, I often get tripped up when my expectations for others are so obvious and (seemingly) rooted in common sense that I don’t make the effort or expend the energy to communicate them clearly. Inevitably, I make snap judgments and put people in little tiny boxes with the jail bars being as slim and confining as my assumptions.

The other quote from Anne Lamott I keep thinking about is: “My good ideas for other people often seem to annoy them.”

This goes part and parcel with unrealistic expectations for other people. Better than fixing our relatives at this Thanksgiving get together or straightening out their politic bent this Christmas, perhaps we should have a slice of humble pie with our turkey and mashed potatoes and simply love them for as long as it takes for them to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.

Lucky for me I get to share my Thanksgiving with some of the best gals you will ever meet. Briana, Lori, Licia, and Anna. So it will be easy for me because these four are the Mary Poppins of missionaries. Practically perfect in every way.

I don’t post this blog post high handedly. I post it because I am better and stronger and truer this Thanksgiving than I was last because these four, and others, continue to love me for as long as it takes for me to be all God desires for me to me.

Apostle Paul was right when he wrote, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.”

Praise be to God forever.