EXPECTATIONS vs. DEMANDS

Expectations are like a gentle hand on the tiller—they guide our hopes without gripping the wheel. Demands are a vice grip, insisting the boat go exactly where we want, and when it doesn't, we resent the current. The Big Book says, 'We ask God to forgive us and to show us what we need to do' [Page 60]. That's an expectation—an openness to direction—not a demand. The Promises tell us we will 'not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it' [Page 84]—that happens when we drop the demand that life be different. Recovery asks us to trade our demands for simple expectations, trusting that a Power greater than ourselves has a better plan. The Third Step prayer models this: 'Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness' [Page 63]—not 'give me what I want.' So today, let a demand become an expectation. You'll find peace in the surrender.