A New Normal

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 ESV

Patsy Clairmont, best known for her association with the Women of Faith movement, wrote a humorous, spiritually-centered book several years ago entitled “Normal Is Just a Setting on Your Dryer.” This dear lady has an amazing story. Suffering from agoraphobia, “the fear of wide-open spaces, crowds, or uncontrolled social conditions,” Patsy was traumatized by the thought of going outside the boundaries of her home. Then Jesus got a hold of her, changed her in miraculous ways, and continues to use her daily for His Kingdom.

Patsy’s life was anything but normal when the Lord pulled her out of the awful pit Satan had kept her in for so long. God gave her new life and freed her from the chains of fear that had held her imprisoned in her own home. He rescued Patsy for people like me and other women who were blessed by her messages of hope and encouragement whenever we attended the Women of Faith conferences. After one particular trip to the conference, I came home with many of Patsy’s DVD messages, which I still cherish. Recently, I have felt the prompting to share these humorous but relevant spiritual messages with other women, possibly in a small group setting in my home. I am praying about the timing for this endeavor.

In 2020, after the pandemic hit, I often heard people say, “I sure wish we could get back to normal.” It was a sentiment we all felt in our hearts. We passionately hoped for it. We prayed for it. And we longed for it. Days were long, weeks longer, and months seemed more like years. Our lives and the world had slowed to a crawl. The isolation was challenging and something we weren’t used to. As schools began to close due to COVID-19, I was responsible for helping my 8-year-old granddaughter, Sophie, with her virtual learning classes in my home. It was a stressful time, but we got through it with flying colors. Finally, we returned to our routines; thankfully, much has improved since 2020.

Fast forward four years and most of us feel that the times we live in resemble nothing near what we would consider normal. We find ourselves asking, “What is normal?” “Will it ever return?” Those of us who have lived quite a few years have seen many changes in the world since we were youngsters. We are prone to long for the life we remember from years ago. Things were ordinary and straightforward back then. But when we give it some extra thought, we find life wasn’t all peaches and cream in the “old days” either. In our present life, we simply long for peace, rest from the visual images of war, and a world where there is no division, anger, hate, and evil. That’s sure not the world we are living in today!

The truth is, our lives will never be “normal” as defined: “lacking observable abnormalities or deficiencies.” We can do our best to cover up physical, emotional, and spiritual abnormalities, but the truth is that we live in a fallen world. In our present life we will experience pain, suffering, grief, disappointment, and a host of other things we’d rather not have to go through. However, there is no way around it. Things aren’t normal. Sadly, here on earth they never will be. Like it or not, we are all in the same boat. Consequently, who we are allowing to steer our boat is very important.

Without a doubt, we can experience the peace of God in our hearts through each of our anxious and uncertain moments. We can make each new day one in which we don’t focus on the bad stuff; instead we can view our present difficulties through a spiritual lens and in light of eternity. This world is not our final destination. We are “just a passing through,” as the old hymn tells us. And it’s passing fast! While we are here, despite trying times, we have a sure and mighty Anchor to hold onto. We have someone who will always steady us, never change, and is always perfect and normal in every way! His name is Jesus, and He is as close as the mention of His name. If you aren’t depending on Him for your strength today, why not read the Book of John? Get to know who He is and see how much He loves you. The Good News is that He will take you right where you are—and He will shape and mold you, then shape and mold some more until He begins to see His image shining through you. He is the Master Potter and if you allow Him to do His good work in you, the transformation that comes forth will be amazing. He is loving, patient and kind and wastes no good thing.

Let us remember that while we are here on earth, we will never be without the presence of abnormalities, but we have the assurance that a new day is coming when Jesus will right every wrong and gather His flock to give us an eternal home in Heaven. There is no doubt that we are going to love our NEW NORMAL!!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, God of all creation, Maker of the sun, moon, and stars, how we love You! In You, there is life and breath and normalcy. You hold us and all things together. Thank You for loving us that much, and for the promise of a better day to come. In Your house, all things will be made new. One sweet day, we will experience all that Heaven has to offer and it will be marvelous! Until then, give us Your strength so we might continue serving You in all we do. I pray this in the name of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.