The Clothers...

The New Normal

I was chatting with our missionary friend Rachel Graham about getting used to living in Uganda as missionaries. They've only been there a few months.

Everything is different. She and Daniel are far from family and what they had come to consider "normal" especially during Christmas.

On Christmas day, the road they were traveling was clogged with baboons. Baboons! Most of us probably don't experience that every day.

As we talked, I was sharing our Christmases have been pretty different too. Last year my Brother died unexpectedly just before Christmas. This year we had a close friend pass, felt lead to leave our little church plant, Cynthia's MS related pain is at an all time high, and the brother-in-law of the young lady living with us went missing in Portland.

We spent a quiet Christmas, 1000 miles away from our traditional family gatherings, but it felt right. Our Christmas was joyful. We weren't trying to replicate past Christmas experiences or even create new ones. We chose to be fully present in this one as we celebrated the birth of our Saviour, trusting God that this is just what we are to be experiencing at this moment in time.

As Rachel and I talked, we reflected on our tendency to want to get back to what we feel is "normal" instead of fully embracing where we are now, where God has called us, as our "new normal." We can get so caught up in trying to make things feel the same as they did at another time that we don't let go of the past, and we miss developing a real appreciation for where we are now, what we are learning, and the journey before us.

I continue to learn...

Trust God with where you are.

Stop trying to get back to where you were.

Entrust God with where you are going.

Be at peace.

This is supposed to be fun

Cynthia announced this morning as she sat beside me for coffee...

"I've made too many mistakes, I'm giving up. This is supposed to be fun."

And with a flourish of her pen, she quit and moved on.

To her next puzzle.

And I laughed. Isn't life like that sometimes?

Things get hard and we have two choices, keep working at it, or move on. It's an easy call with a puzzle book, but not so easy in life when the right thing is not necessarily the fun thing.

Through the years I've always been a little stubborn about making things work. Whether it's fixing something that's broken around the house instead of replacing it, or staying with a relationship that is repreatedly having problems.

My wife is stuck with me. We have a covenant relationship between each other and God. We work through stuff, no matter what. Through the years we have far less stuff, not much at all really, and we love each other like crazy so our life together is wonderful.

But what about our relationships with extended family, friends, churches, jobs? How do we know when to stay put or to move on in times of trouble?

I wish I had an easy answer.

I try to keep in mind that every decision is a spiritual decision. If we release ourselves completely to God's Truth and will, we'll hear His voice calling us away from some situations and towards others, including neighborhoods, churches, jobs, and people. And in all circumstances we'll experience joy.

Where does God want you right now? Where doesn't He want you? Are you experiencing the deep joy that only God can bring, regardless of whether it's fun?