When Expectation Hijacks Reality: Grace for the Season You’re In
Do you ever wonder why, when everything in your life seems good, it can still feel heavy or hard to enjoy?
It’s those quiet moments when you think, “This is what I prayed for… so why does it feel so hard?”
Sometimes we do get exactly what we prayed for, but it doesn’t always look how we imagined.
Maybe we knew there would be challenges, but there’s a big difference between imagining the hard and living it.
Struggle in the Blessing
I’m four weeks postpartum right now, and this season has reminded me that some of the most beautiful blessings can also be the hardest to walk through.
This isn’t my first time doing this. I’ve had three babies before, but each journey tells its own story.
This time around, I worried about losing the little routine I’d finally found. I told myself I’d still manage quiet mornings with my Bible, maybe post on the blog, and possibly squeeze in a chapter of my novel.
And yet here I am, four weeks in, and reality looks a lot different.
I’ve opened my Bible once. My prayers have mostly been whispered thoughts between bottle washes. This is my first blog post since the beginning of September, and the novel hasn’t seen a single new word.
Even if you’re not in a postpartum season, maybe you’ve had your own version of this: a new job, home, or answered prayer that came wrapped in unexpected difficulty.
Blessings can still stretch us.
The Weight of Expectation
When I stopped to reflect on why it all felt so heavy, I realized it wasn’t the season itself but the expectations I stacked on top of it. Expectation makes you feel like you’re falling behind, even when you’re right where God wants you.
Maybe what God is asking of me right now isn’t productivity but presence. I’m soaking in every snuggle and sleepy smile.
Perhaps the reason everything else feels like it’s falling away is because I’m finally doing the one thing He asked of me: to love well, be present, and receive grace where I used to measure performance.
What is He asking of you?
The Ache and the Grace
There’s still an ache, one I can’t ignore. I miss being in the Word the way I once was. But even that ache reminds me of grace, because it means I need Him.
His Word isn’t just a discipline—it’s a lifeline.
So instead of guilt, I’m choosing gratitude. Gratitude that my heart still longs for Him, even when my hands are full. Gratitude that His grace fills the spaces where I can’t.
When Expectation Hijacks Reality
Expectation can quietly rob us of joy.
We imagine what faithfulness or success should look like and feel disappointed when reality doesn’t match the picture. But God isn’t measuring our days by how tidy they look. He’s present in the unpolished ones.
Whether you’re caring for a newborn, rebuilding your routine, or simply trying to keep up with life, maybe this is your reminder that faithfulness doesn’t always look productive.
Sometimes it’s just showing up where you are, with a heart that still turns toward Him.
The Grace to Begin Again
If you feel spiritually dry, know this: dryness doesn’t mean distance.
God hasn’t moved. He’s in the stillness and in the small moments that don’t look like much.
Everything will happen in its time, by the grace and strength of Jesus, if you hand it over to Him.
Even this post doesn’t feel like an item checked off a list but a timely word He wanted written—maybe for someone who needs this reminder as much as I did.
You don’t have to rebuild everything overnight. Just take a moment to thank Him and whisper an honest prayer.
He’s not waiting for perfection.
He’s waiting for you.
“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” — Psalm 145:18
