Over the last year, my life has been mostly characterized by one thing: change. And usually not just one thing changing at a time, but rather several areas of my life shifting beneath my feet like sand. Just when I thought I found an area that was going to remain consistent, it or something related to it would shift. I found myself constantly trying to "create a new normal", to quote my friend, Ann Carolyn. And it was exhausting.
I have finally found myself in a season of relative consistency. I have a wonderful job that I love which is structured and very organized. Check. I have determined new roommates and pretty much know where I'm going to live. Check. At this point, almost all of my close friends are married, so I'm pretty much done with the shifting of amounts of availability for friends. Check...I guess. Basically, things seem rather calm. And while I'm enjoying the calm, I've found myself getting sucked in to missing what was. Missing the old normal. Because while I like the new normal, there are so many things about the old that I liked, that felt safe, and that no one asked me about changing.
And it is usually at this point that the Lord sweetly reminds me about the seasons of life, that change is necessary, and that He has me. God is so sweet in His grace because I constantly fight against this idea, trying to look back instead of looking forward. I continue to learn the importance of those words Jesus spoke in Matthew, instructing us to build our houses on the Rock and not on the sand. The sand shifts. Anything that is not Christ will shift, change, allow me to fall.
My favorite author, Shauna Niequist, has a new book coming out in August that is specifically about change and I feel as though she was writing it just for me:
‘When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate, and when life is bitter, say thank you and grow.‘ -Shauna Niequist, 'Bittersweet'
So here's to the new normal, accepting it, and beginning to learn to love it. Cheers.
And the picture is a hat-tip to the old that I miss...
