As soon as my eyes fluttered open, I thought, “Wait! This is not my life.” Immediately, I tried going back to sleep, as if I could wake up to the way things were before. Wishing for a rewind button to travel straight back to the good old days, I struggled every day to accept reality. Life keeps marching on and there is no rewinding to normal. When normal isn’t an option, push pause and wait.
Don’t get so focused on what you’ve lost, that you miss what you’ve gained.
Life isn’t a fairy tale
If God handed me a pen and gave me permission to write my own script, this definitely wouldn’t be it. Instead I’d write a fairy tale, complete with a princess who straightens her crown, overcomes wickedness and lives happily ever after. But that’s a story for Grimm and Walt to tell.
In the real world, you can have it all and still not have abundant life, peace or joy.
“Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world – wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important – has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out – but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.” 1 John 2:15-17 (MSG)
Life isn’t going back to normal
Life isn’t going back to normal. You know that, right? Maybe it’s not a bad thing after all. When this season is over, everything is going to be different.
Hardship makes us long for what was without seeing what will be. Nostalgia may come in waves, painting the past in vibrant colors; erasing anything that splattered our version of perfect.
The desert makes slavery look like a feast, but it’s not; remember, it’s bondage. Longing for the past and living with regret binds us to unrealistic histories and shackles us to rose colored memories.
“We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.” Numbers 11:5 (ESV)
After getting a few feet from brutal labor, our memories get fishy and more than a little cucumbery, then next thing you know, we think free garlic and leeks are the good life. Living in the past creates bitterness and resentment and regret.
We are on the way to Act 2. The grand finale is coming, yet we are stuck in the intro. Don’t miss the standing ovation because you’re longing for history. God is doing something – a new thing.
Get up and live today. Be present. Be still. Be quiet and ask God what He wants to teach you during the break.
“I have told you these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV)
Trying to squeeze more out of life, squeezes God out of life.
Remember when we ran to and fro; collapsed into bed every night, only to have the alarm jolt us into the next cycle of spinning through our days, never stopping to watch the rain, or stare at the stars, or listen to a chorus of summer nights? Oh yeah, Lord, now why did you bring us into the big desert of pause? When can we go back to normal?
I don’t know about you, but busyness sure squeezes God out of life. What if He created this empty space for Himself? Taking away all the props and costumes to reveal our true character, maybe, just maybe, He has a different script in mind.
When normal isn’t an option
I don’t know how it all turns out, or what normal is going to look like. But I know this:
- God is on His throne
- He has a plan and a purpose
- He wants to be our first love
- He is enough
And really, that’s all I need to know. So, grab a bag a popcorn, and enjoy the show.
While you’re waiting, I’m planning a virtual summit. It won’t be shared on social media, so you’ll have to sign up for my newsletter to join. More details coming soon.
Thank you for this reminder.
Thanks for your encouragement
Thanks For The encouragement and The Long View.
Yes, the long view. We all struggle with that
Thanks for the reminder, Vickie. This is something Mark and I have struggled with the past 9 years with his physical problems. My word this year that has helped me through some difficult times even before the spring “shut down” was “Endurance.” Now, it has become apparent that I picked the right word for 2020 and can find the strength to Endure only through Christ!
Absolutely. We all need a heavy dose of endurance