Have you ever ordered something or booked a hotel online? Did you get what you expected? Have you ever been disappointed?
In my last post, Great Expectations (Part 1 of 3) – Disappointment is Typically a Result of Unmet Expectations, we left off with my husband and me staying with his family, resolving conflict, and clarifying expectations.
We pick up on our return drive home after three weeks of a full schedule.
Bryan and I learned early on that it is important to schedule downtime, so for the last leg of our road trip, we didn’t schedule any appointments or church visits and took the scenic route home. It was a beautiful drive, and we took our time. We stopped at viewpoints, walked trails in the forests, and had picnics on a few beaches.
For our next overnight stay, I had reserved what I thought was a wonderful waterfront inn with a sunset view. During our drive, we talked about relaxing with a warm drink and enjoying a peaceful sunset. We were looking forward to this respite.
Perhaps you have ordered things or reserved hotels online before, and you have a mixed bag of experiences. Online ordering and booking are great, but sometimes you don’t get what you expect.
After ten hours of driving, we arrived at the hotel. As Bryan parked the car, I looked up at the sign. Tilting my head to get a better look, I looked at the sign and then the GPS and pulled out my reservation to double-check the name and address.
Turning to Bryan, I asked, “Where are we? This can’t be right.” I handed him the paper, and we both rechecked the address. We were in the right place, all right; it was just nothing like what I thought I had booked.
This “inn” was straight out of a horror movie. A small two-story motel with old faded blue paint on the outside and the baked-in smell of cigarette smoke on the inside. What looked like thirty-year-old linens covered the bed. Two old wooden tables riddled with cigarette burns stood on either side of the bed.
The “sunset view” was across a vast parking lot, watching the sun dip behind the massive supermarket. We enjoyed the “waterfront” view of swampland that lay about twelve feet outside the back door of our room, across a small patch of soggy grass.
It was too late to cancel or find anything else, so we settled in as best we could. We were staying for one night; we could do anything for one night. It is a challenge to find hotels that allow pets, but this one . . . this one takes the cake for the worst decision ever. (I have since challenged that title, but that’s a story for another day.)
Even with all the photos on the website, I still got something other than what I expected. So, although we communicate clearly, it is still possible to disappoint others and be disappointed by unmet expectations. But, despite our bewilderment, we were thankful we had a place to lay our heads that night.
My takeaway for purchasing things or booking hotels online is to keep your hopes high and expectations low. I suppose I would say the same for relationships. While we hope for the best from others, we can’t expect people to read our minds, and thus we may get less than what we expect.
I invite you to pray with me.
Father God, I know I will likely be disappointed by unmet expectations. Though sometimes, I may not even know what I expect in any situation. I pray you would prepare my heart for what’s ahead and help me offer grace when my expectations go unmet. I pray in Jesus’s name, amen.
Today’s blog post is the second installment of a three-part series called Great Expectations. Come back next month to read about Understanding Our Expectations of the Organization.
I adapted this series from my book Living Uprooted: Encouragement for the Missionary Wife.
You can find the print book and ebook online at the Redemption Press bookstore, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
If you would like to hear a little more about the heart behind Living Uprooted, head on over to my Interviews tab on my website and select the interview you’d like to listen to.
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