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Header graphic for coastal parishes. Shows images of the three church buildings, the coastal parishes logo, and text 'Coastal Parishes North Devon' and 'The church of England in Woolacombe, Mortehoe and Lee', with a background image of Woolacombe Bay. Overlayed image of St Sabinus - Woolacombe Overlayed image of St. Mary's - Mortehoe Overlayed image of St. Matthew's - Lee

And in July?

A woman sites at a desk preparing to write. Ariound her are images of country llife in July. A harvester is reaping, a family plays on a sandy beach, there are also images of thunderstorms and drought. The text "Trust in the Lord" is prominent.What will July bring?

As I sit writing this article in preparation for the July edition of the magazine, I can’t help but wonder what July will bring.  Will it be a warmer and drier month than June?  Will it be a good season for those whose businesses rely on an influx of happy holidaymakers? Will farmers reap good crops?  Time, of course, will tell, but my question made me think about expectations and our response to them.

From what I have learned over the years, expectations shape the way we see the world. They influence how we wait, how we respond to disappointment and how we end up seeing ourselves. Unmet expectations can feel like failure, silence, or rejection. We may pray for healing, change, reconciliation, or clarity, and yet the answer does not come in the way we hoped. In those moments, faith does not require us to pretend we are not disappointed. We bring our confusion to God because we believe he is still present, still good, and still listening.

Christian hope is not optimism that everything will happen as we imagine. It is confidence in God's faithfulness, even when life unfolds differently. Proverbs reminds us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” This does not mean understanding is unimportant; it means our understanding is limited and not the foundation of our peace. God himself is.

The Bible is full of people whose expectations were challenged. Israel expected a conquering Messiah, yet Jesus came in humility. The disciples expected immediate victory, yet Christ spoke of the cross. Mary expected an ordinary future, yet God called her into a story far beyond her imagining. Again and again, God meets his people not by fitting neatly into their assumptions, but by revealing something deeper, truer, and more life-giving.

In the Lord’s prayer, we are invited not simply to lower our expectations but to surrender them to God in the words “Thy will be done,” trusting that his wisdom is greater than our plans and his timing kinder than our impatience.

To follow Christ is to learn the holy art of expectation: expecting God to be faithful but allowing him freedom to be faithful in his own way. We can bring our hopes to him honestly, while holding them with open hands. In doing so, we discover that God does not always give us what we expect, but he always gives himself—and in him, there is grace enough for every season.

Perhaps, then, the challenge is not to live without expectations, but to hold them lightly before God. We may hope for sunshine, fruitful work, restored relationships, and answered prayers, but our peace cannot depend entirely on outcomes. Christian faith teaches us to expect God’s presence whatever the season brings. When life surprises us, disappoints us, or exceeds what we imagined, we are invited to trust that God is still at work, shaping our hearts and guiding our steps with grace.

 

God bless you.  Revd Susan