Recently, I was sitting with someone going through a rough patch in life. I asked her what she would like to do when things stabilize a bit or get back to a new “normal”, and she surprised me with her answer. She said, “I want to get a dining room table.” To say the least, I did not expect this answer, but it made sense as she spoke. She said that she and her kids never had a dining room table, because things have been so chaotic. Without that table, she said they rarely ate together and she struggled with finding out how their day had been. Without that table, they haven’t been “normal.”
What does normal look like? Is it tangible, practical, or an unreachable mental image of the way I think things “should” be? Sometimes I tend to live life waiting for my next project to be over, so I can rest and have things get back to “normal.” In my life, when one project is over…the next one begins. I live with the carrot before the donkey pulling the cart, but I, as the donkey, never quite make it to that reward. No wonder I am so tired!
One of my goals for this school year is to determine how “normal” in my life is measured. Is it measured with a sink of dirty dishes, kids with full bellies and warm beds? Is it measured by a spotless house, crazy sports schedules, and one intentional date with my husband a month? Am I truly comfortable in my “normal”, or am I striving to measure up to some unrealistic expectation/s I place on myself?
My prayer is that we can all strive to allow Jesus to teach us what our “normal” looks like and then learn to be content then and there. As the saying goes, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” So, here’s to you finding your main thing, your “normal.”
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21
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