A Reflection Series for Stress Awareness Month
The Stress of Unmet Expectations
Excerpt from Wine & Faith – 19 Days in Napa
Jill is reading a journal entry she had written in the early stages of her pregnancy. She is reflecting on feeling ignored by her husband, Derek.
Dear God,
Why is Derek appalled by my big tummy?
Growing a human within is a sacred experience. Yet, I feel as though I have the plague. I never imagined this! I expected more compassion, respect, touching – caressing, and kissing. Being pregnant doesn’t mean I have lost my physical urges. If anything, they have intensified. Maybe I’m trying too hard or expecting too much. What if my “condition” turns off Derek? All I know is it makes me so sad.
Please help me to understand why Derek is this way. Guide me, Oh, Lord. Fill my heart with more love and patience. Thank you for the miracle of life.
Amen
Faith Reflection
Have you ever expected someone to show up with compassion only to be met by distance instead? Like they checked out?
Unmet expectations—especially from those we love—can cut deep. You thought you’d be celebrated and cherished. But instead, you find yourself grieving an intimacy that is no longer there.
We start to ask questions:
What is wrong with me?
What did I do?
We second-guess our needs. We blame our emotions. We wonder why our partner is not talking to us. Or even trying to understand us?
The pain of unmet expectations is real. It doesn’t mean we are too needy. It’s a sign that we are human.
Jill’s broken heart is subtle yet profound. It cuts us at our core. The longing to be seen and touched. Especially during one of the most vulnerable times of a woman’s life. But Derek’s silence speaks louder than words.
Jill doesn’t scream or sob. She writes. It is there, in the journal, that she begins to face the truth that she is alone in her marriage. Something she never imagined.
God sees this disappointment.
You see me. — Genesis 16:13 (Hagar’s words to God)
Even when others do not respond to your needs, God does. His presence meets you in the quiet.
Disappointment is a form of grief.
Name it.
Hold space for it.
And trust that God holds space for you, too.
Haiku
A kiss, an embrace,
Our heart yearns for connection,
In untouched spaces.
Reflective Questions
Where do you feel emotionally disconnected?
And how might you begin naming that, even gently?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Please comment and “like” this post if you feel led to do so.
#MentalHealth #MentalHealthAwareness #Overwhelm #FeelingInvisible #EmotionalIsolation #WalkingOnEggshells #UnmetExpectations #Relationships #WineandFaith #NadiaCrane #thepaiseleyfrog #LifeJourney
I and Thou Reflections 