Thanking God for New Normals by Minister Darryl Scarbrough
There are seasons in life in which life drastically shifts. We expect life to stick to this linear plan. Then suddenly life skips a,b,c and zig zags to q. In our amazement, and to some degree shock, we search for reasons and answers:
Why did this happen?
What could I have done to prevent it?
Why me?
Two questions become paramount, one is the question of: "What do I do now?" and "Can this be changed?"
The plain but painful reality is that it cannot be changed. As this settles in, this becomes the answer to the last question of what now. Now, we welcome and accept the new normal of our lives. Many holidays mark times of extreme joy or sadness, very often it is the shift from joy to sadness that we struggle with. However, this is something that should be embraced and not rejected.
Over the course of life many times the pains we carry become so much a part of us that they are normal to us. Normal to argue with a spouse, normal to have children that are in trouble, normal to be broke, normal to be depressed. These are the things that become normal to us ,but according to God's will these things are not normal. God does us a favor by allowing situations to come in our lives that mentally, emotionally, and spiritually wipe the slate clean. Often this 'wiping' seems painful, but it only seems that way because it changes what we have known to be normal. Yet, God has a 'new normal' for us that even though it seems hard up front, it blesses us in the long run.
Whatever the adjustment is that you have to make and/or have experienced, don't push back or reject it but trust God's sovereignty and embrace the opportunity for the gift of a new normal.