Women’s Ministry Minute
May 21, 2020
With Carol Wood
Normal. When will life go back to normal? This question is being asked over and over by people all over the world. And it doesn’t seem to matter who you ask - Google, doctors, epidemiologists, scientists, world leaders or my personal favorite, Dr Fauci - no one seems to have a definite answer! What does “getting back to normal” even mean anyway? Well of course if you look you’ll find several dictionary answers all saying pretty much the same thing. Normal is defined as “according to a regular pattern, something ordinary, habitual, routine”. Another definition states, “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”. Well many of us aren’t ready to conform to a new way! We desperately want to bring back the old “normal”.
As Covid rocked our lives, my normal changed very rapidly. I was working full time in an elementary school and now like so many others, I am home everyday. My job has now turned into trying to support teachers as they “teach” their students in this new normal. It has not been easy to say the least! I miss the normal routine of teaching, supporting, being with colleagues, and most of all hugging students. Our new normal for our staff is through zoom for weekly meetings where we try to connect with students and each other. This way of school is not normal! For church, as we all are experiencing, things are very different as well. Our small group has found it painful to not be able to meet together physically, or to share a meal, or to just hug each other. Talking only through zoom, groupme or phone calls isn’t always cutting it. Again… this is so not normal!
But yet here we are… in a “new normal”. When this began back in mid March, I think we all were fooled into the belief that in no time we’d be back to “normal”. Now that we’re well into May, I think we all realize that this new normal might be here to stay awhile. So how can we make peace with it? Can we conform to our new normal? What are some ways to adjust to this?
Jesus experienced change in the blink of an eye. One minute he was in heaven with the Father and the next he took on the human form and found himself living in a lowly manger! Talk about a change from everyday normal! The women in our small group have been reading a Max Lucado book titled Jesus - The God Who Knows Your Name. In his book, Max vividly describes this culture shock for Jesus. We are reminded that Jesus agreed to become human, agreed to be confined by flesh, he somehow found a way to leave a “normal” in heaven with his father, a normal we can’t even begin to fathom and come to a completely new world. And he did this for us! Did he ever ask “when will I go back to normal” ? He never did. He instead chose a mindset of humility to drive his focus. We find his secret in Philipians 2 - having the “mindset of Christ Jesus… he made himself nothing, taking on the nature of a servant... he humbled himself.” He got through it by not thinking about himself and his circumstances but rather by considering others, serving, and letting God’s Will drive his every step.
When each of us met Jesus our normal was turned upside down! For those living while Jesus walked the earth, their lives were especially shaken. They followed Jesus and heard him deliver new teachings and model new ways to live and walk with God. It must have been extraordinary. Christ challenged the heart and mind and soul of everyone he met. His offer of forgiveness would forever change us if we accepted it: 2 Cor. 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” A new normal!
These two examples have helped me learn to lean into our new normal. For sure there are days where I feel sad, lonely, and sometimes even a bit hopeless. I’ve realized these emotions too are part of our new normal. As we learned from the Cochran’s - we’re grieving the loss of our old way of life and sometimes it’s ok to be stuck in that sadness. But as the days go on I’m trying more and more to take this time to grow, to find ways to enjoy our new normal. As I consider how Jesus and the world responded to those drastic changes, I realize there’s hope for all of us! We can get through this. The secret is to lean into it and embrace the opportunity to grow. Look for ways to stay with our purpose but adjust it to fit these times. Like Christ, I’m still called to be a humble servant. How can I serve and encourage others? Like those who met Jesus directly, how can I respond as they did, eager to follow Jesus and emulate him.
I have to say that this month things have gotten easier - my mindset is changing and starting to lean into this time. Will we ever get back to our old normal? Who knows?! But while this new normal is here, my goal is to lean into Jesus and try to follow his example to serve and grow in my walk with God.