Sept.22

Why Expectations Matter

Sept.22Recently, I have been reminded about the remarkable story of Dr. Ben Carson. Dr. Carson recently retired from Johns Hopkins University where he was the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery. He has performed some of the most amazing surgeries in the world.

Now, he is a Republican candidate for the president of United States. This is not a political endorsement. It is an endorsement of the need for expectations in the family.

People do better when they have expectations about their behavior and their future.

Ben Carson was raised by a single mom. That is a burden on any child. My wife was raised by a single mom. As we discussed Dr. Carson’s story, she said again – – she has said this to me many, many times – – how difficult it is to be raised without a father. To this day she longs to have had a father.

Dr. Carson’s story is remarkable for how his mother helped him overcome poverty.

Dr. Carson’s mother worked as a domestic. She noticed that the wealthy people she worked for didn’t watch much television, and she came to the conclusion that they spent their time reading books rather than watching TV.

She decided that her sons would read books as well and gave them the assignment of two books per week with a report on each book. She received the reports each week and dutifully marked them up for the boys.

What the boys weren’t aware of at the time was that their mother was illiterate.

She set expectations for her children – – expectations which have paid off for a lifetime for her boys.

What gentle, kind, loving expectations are you setting for your children? What are you encouraging them to be? What example are you showing them that you are learning and growing just as you want them to learn and grow?

What are you leading your children to expect about God and His church? Remember, examples and expectations mean much more than empty rhetoric.

Let us tell our children what they can be and what they can accomplish. Let us tell them about our hopes and dreams for their lives.

Expectations have tremendous power.

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