Red Delicious apples are my favorite. I enjoy their sweet flavor. I am big on sweet, not so much on sour. I’ll pick out one of those gems, wash and polish that deep red skin to a rich shine and get ready for that first   

B  I  G      B  I  T  E

     With my mouth watering, I open wide, and chomp down.  Ahhhhh, I begin to taste the juice and it is every bit as good as I remembered.  Just as I begin to chew, I feast my eyes on the apple to get ready for that   

N E X T   B I G   B I T E

     But suddenly, just as I am about to chomp down, I notice where I took my last bite, is brown and rotted.  My delight promptly turns to horror as I begin to spit the remaining apple out of my mouth and quickly deposit the remainder in the garbage.  While the deep red shining skin of the apple looked sooooooo inviting from the outside, what was underneath was 

“NOT WHAT I E X P E C T E D”

     Life does that to us sometimes doesn’t it?  What we are expecting to be sweet and savory can turn out to be sour grapes. Those “not what I expected” moments can send us searching for the first available escape route. 

     I have often heard it said, “Don’t expect anything then you won’t be disappointed.” I get that, but will that type of “non-expectant lifestyle” get me to the sweet and savory I so desire?  If I never expect that any one will love me, if I never expect any dream to come true, if I never expect to be invited, if I never expect life to be any different, if I never expect to be treated any different, if I never expect to be successful, if I never expect to grow or change, if I never expect ……..then I wonder

IF

I will ever engage in life?  Or

IF

I will ever be a part of anyone else’s life engagement?

     But what IF instead, I decided that not every red delicious apple is bad.  What if I was willing to give another red delicious apple a shot.  And what if I decided to go about that next  B I G  B I T E  just a little different.  This time instead of jumping in and sinking my teeth into the apple, I cut it into bite size pieces.  Now I can see what I am biting into.  Instead of setting myself up for another “not what I expected” moment I take a different route.  Those “not what I expected” moments are going to happen, but I choose beforehand to let them

                                                   grow me not control me.

I cut those moments into pieces where I can see them for what they are in light of God’s Word.  A sweet and savory outcome for the “not what I expected” should begin by: 

• Knowing where to turn when the “not what I expected” occurs – But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.        Matthew 6:33

• Being convinced of my heart’s priority before the “not what I expected” occurs – You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  Deuteronomy 6:5

• Being convinced of the outcome – And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:28

     If I take a moment to step back from the “not what I expected” moment and spit it out and not dwell on it and then measure the “not what I expected” moment by these scriptures it doesn’t have a chance to turn to sour grapes.  Instead, I learn some lessons, grow and enter into the next “not what I expected” moment stronger, wiser, better prepared.

     The time to prepared for the “not what I expected” moment begins now.

R e S e t