A New Normal

Once a house is destroyed by an earthquake, there it cannot be rebuilt to its first specifications. Changes to the design need to be made, along with changes due to our present situation.

The same goes for those losses that happen in our lives.

This reality hit home when I was asked about 20 years ago by the “Families of Murder Victims” to address their Christmas service. Here they are, without their loved one due to the violence of another, and at a time when they’re missed the most. Talk about a hard service to conduct.

I was to bring them comfort, and a word of encouragement. What the Lord laid on my heart was this idea that while life will never return back to normal, they can begin to find a new normal.

After such a devastating loss, life will never be the same as it once was, but that doesn’t mean that this new life can’t be just as rewarding. But to find this new normal there are things that have to change.

First, we have to resist the temptation to be bitter.

Whenever bitterness enters, joy exits. Bitterness is a poison that destroys. Therefore, we need to turn to the Lord and find His joy. To find that joy, we need to know that God is healing, cleansing, protecting, loving, and delivering in the midst of life’s storms.

Next, we have to resist blaming others.

We mistakenly think that if we can find someone else to blame for our losses then everything will be okay. This is human nature in its rawest form. If something good happens we had a hand in it. But if something bad happens it’s someone else’s fault. We even go so far as to blame God.

And finally, we need to resist focusing on what’s been lost.

Finding our new normal is all about counting our blessings and focusing on what is left, that is, focusing on God, family, friends, and faith.