Great Expectations

Great Expectations is Charles Dickens' greatest novel, a story of Pip, a young man who moves from rags to riches, an orphan with a drastic change in lifestyle because of a wealthy benefactor.

It is the unexpecteds in life which determine the character of a man. It is not what happens when all goes as expected, when all goes well, but character is determined when all goes wrong.

On your farm, seeds were planted with great expectations. From the “Good Earth”, sufficient rain showers, sunshine, crop cultivation, care by the farmer, you could expect, reproduce, production of crops which you had planted... the oldest system in the world, sowing and reaping. You must understand sowing and reaping, expectations, in order to understand everything pertaining to life. You reap what you sow. You reap in proportion to what you sow.

There has never been a mother who looked at a new born baby without great expectations. Prisons are full of those who did not meet expectations.

Too many allow critics to determine our lives, our expectations. Think of the teachers who have been surprised by the accomplishment of those from whom they did not expect much. So many families like to point out the “black sheep” The greatest vengeance is seeing the black sheep of the family accomplish most. History books, biographies, are stories of those who did not stand out anywhere except in their own minds. Most great men and women of God, family, country are those who had the courage to keep on in spite of the low expectations of others. There was nothing remarkable about Theodore Roosevelt as a student at Harvard until he, himself, decided to become a man. His cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt did not excel at Harvard, and more than anything else, was forced to live life as a cripple after Polio. Unexpected, both became great Presidents of the United States, simply by their own courage. Thomas Alva Edison had very little formal education, Steve Jobs never graduated from college. Both great in spite of their limitations and low expectations.

In every life there is a constant battle between good and evil. The Great Designer made it that way – with the greatest gift of all – free will.. You are either victim of or victor over the unexpecteds of living. Sooner or later, you face the seven deadly sins, pride, anger, envy, lust, laziness, greed and gluttony. It is so much easier, more accomplished to enjoy the fruit of the spirit - love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ( Galatians 5:22-23) Most of us live with more evil than good, described best by the seven deadly sins than the nine fruit of the spirit. It is expected that the Christian, filled with the spirit of God, should reflect in our lives the fruit of the spirit. Sad to say, the Christian like the non-Christian is marked more by pride, (the beginning of every sin) than love, (the beginning of everything good) And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity (love).(1 Corinthians 13:13)

Nicola Tesla, inventor of the radio and many other electronics, was ostracized, as a “mad scientist”, died in 1943 almost penniless. A Serbian, Croatian, mostly self educated, became one of the world's greatest engineers... no greater invention than the radio.

The radio, education and entertainment media for the blind. The radio, method of worship for the disabled and the home bound. The radio, classroom for every person who wants to learn. The radio, method for communications in warfare. The radio, essential in all emergency operations.

In the American experience next to slavery, the greatest shame of this nation, is the treatment of disabled veterans and handicapped citizens. If the walk were only as easy as the talk... state-controlled news media, civic clubs, churches, lamenting about their appreciation for veterans and the handicapped citizens of the community. The disabled , the handicapped are the last invited to join these clubs and most churches are just clubs with steeples. The country's largest minority, the disabled and the handicapped, have certainly learned that they are not wanted in public places. As a restaurant manager told this blind veteran, the disabled make our normal customers feel uncomfortable. The young warriors, home from battle, victims of auto crashes, casualties of disease, did not expect to live life with unexpected challenges. Life is tough enough at best, shows true faith when tested by the grace of the unexpected.