Most people love normalcy. Whatever normal is in our lives, we like the feeling. When something out of the norm comes along, we back away. We are resistant. Someone will say, “Treat it like an adventure!” Truth is, we don’t care much for adventure. Give us the routine. Give us the normal. You do the adventure. Take some pictures. Get back to me on that one.

         That seems odd. Of all God’s creation, mankind is the most adaptable. Take an iguana from Miami and fly it to the Army base near Fairbanks, Alaska and release it on January 30 and it will freeze solid before it has taken a step. 40 below will do that. The human who brought the iguana will naturally modify his breathing, cinch up his coat and go get a coffee at the Post Exchange. Humanity can deal with just about anything. But that doesn’t mean we like it.

         This COVID-19 situation has caused life to be dramatically different. There has been one constant, though, that I have heard from a lot of people, myself included. “I CANNOT WAIT TO GET BACK TO NORMAL!” We can all identify with that feeling. However, for the last two weeks I have been hearing something else. “I wonder what the New Normal is going to be?” You cannot dress that up by calling it an ‘adventure.’ The New Normal is frightening.

         We have all experienced new normal. A baby is a new normal. Marriage is a new normal. Chronic illness is a new normal. Death of a loved one is a new normal. Moving is a new normal. There are many new normals in life. But we usually have some control or some say in that new normal. It may not be welcome, but we see it as necessary or inevitable. There is a new normal on the immediate horizon, though, and it is uncontrollable.

         I was asked last week, “What is the new normal going to be like?” Being who I am, I made a joke. “So long as there are Tootsie Rolls, we will be fine.” It wasn’t the time or the place for a joke, and the joke was not appreciated. This is serious business to people. In the ministry, I have become accustom to thinking in terms of new normals. Any Spiritual growth is new normal and I have always been about that in myself and in those around me. The new normal in this case, however, is not the same.

         What activity will be curtailed? Are we going to continue to be banned from hospitals and extended care facilities and restaurants? Am I going to be able to get my hair cut or talk to a cashier who is not wearing a mask? Will we be able to gather again for any reason? And, if the new normal is restrictive, will people resort to violence? That is not an idle question. People will allow their lives to be turned upside down only so much before they start to react in a negative way.

         So. New normal. What will it be? Will you be ready for it?

         Think about the disciples just two weeks away from Resurrection. That is where we are right now. They were trying to get used to Jesus being able to walk through closed doors. Daniel and many others were carried away to captivity and had a new normal. Noah and his family went from one kind of climate to another in a relatively short while. So many in the Bible had to change constantly. What enabled them to do so was not their adaptability, but their Spirituality. When you lead your life for Him, the rest will fall into place.

         Don’t let the new normal get you down. It will only be new for a while. Education will change. Church will change. Entertainment will change. Priorities will change. But the Lord never changes. He will never leave you nor will He ever forsake you.

Trust and Obey

When we walk with the Lord

In the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way
While we do His good will, He abides with us still

And with all who will trust and obey

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies
But His smile quickly drives it away
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear
Can abide while we trust and obey

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet

Or we'll walk by His side in the way

What He says we will do, where He sends we will go

Never fear, only trust and obey