Conversation Fuel - What kind of "normal" do you want?

It’s decision time. Where do you want to go?

As strange as it may seem to think that the pandemic began over a year ago, it’s almost as strange to think that in all likelihood within another year or less our daily risk of contracting COVID-19 will dramatically reduce. It seems likely that crowds, commerce, and communities will largely return to their former levels of activity.

Many of us have had to reduce our engagement - and apart from all the things that have already been said on the matter - most of us had to rapidly adapt to a different normal. Before we know it we can slip back into our old normal

Or - do we want to use this global pause to take a more purposeful step towards creating a life that is more meaningful?

I haven’t finished thinking through exactly how I want to do things going forward, but I can tell you that one aspect of the last 12 months that I have greatly appreciated have been the quiet moments of contemplating, praying, connecting with God, and reflecting on what He’s doing in my life.

If you know me very well at all, you know that I already have a habit of spending time daily engaging in just those activities. But what I’m clear about is that I want more.

But what about you? What have you realized you really miss? What have you realized you’ve really enjoyed? Your answers might be pretty different from mine - but that’s because you’re YOU.

The busy-ness of life has a funny way of using hurry, scurry, and blurry activity to squish us all into a mold, one that’s rarely really reflective of how God made us and how we can best bless those around us.

I’m praying that before this whole thing is “over” and we “go back to normal” you can take a moment and connect with your Maker and find a vision for how the new normal can be your best normal yet. I think this is so important because the next normal will take some breaking in before it really feels normal to us, and even when it is broken in, the repercussions of what we’ve all been through will take time and effort to move past. Moving past will go smoother if we connected with God and got our bearings for the journey ahead with Him.