"Getting back to normal?"....................

This is one of those hard to write posts, so here's hoping I manage to get the thoughts out of my head and onto the page in a coherent manner!!

I first went to the dictionary for the meaning of 'normal', and found it was ordinary, or usual, or conforming to a standard or regular pattern.

In the midst of our current situation I have read and listened to a lot of information from various sources, and much of it is talking about "getting back to normal". A lot of people seem anxious for their life to resume and return to doing the things that they used to do. I can understand that for a lot of people that would mean returning to the jobs they used to have and receiving wages again. For more it would be resuming their business operations to enable them to employ again. The economic fallout from the Covid19 virus is going to be huge going forward, not just in Australia, but world wide. Then there are those who want sport to get back to normal, to be able to go out to eat, or for a coffee, and to go shopping. For many people, it is the wish to be able to visit other family members, who might live further away, or be in nursing homes.

The "normal" that we knew were habits and patterns that developed over time that we were familiar with. While a lot of those habits were worthy, I suspect a lot of them were not so good. Perhaps this enforced isolation has made some of us look harder at what life was like, and if we are really being honest, was that "normal" really so great, or just what we knew??

A world of striving, busyness, materialism, lack of "time", selfishness, pollution, increased anxiety and depression, and fear are just a few that come to mind. And I confess to being guilty of some of these too. There have been some positive things coming out of the isolation, as a lot of families are spending more time with each other, there are lots more family games and jigsaw puzzles, more people exercising, home baking, many more phone calls and more people looking out for each other. There is always a positive to every negative, although sometimes it takes a bit of finding, or a crisis to make us think about it.

On a personal level, my life was always busy, busy, go here, go there, get the next quilt done, pay those bills, cook for and hold a weekend retreat, and repeat, again and again. For years now, I have posted on this blog about finding a balance in my life, but in reality nothing was changing and life was just going along as "normal". This time of isolation has given me "permission" to slow down and stay home.  Of course, I realise I am fortunate in that I am able to work from home, and for those without jobs and incomes the outcome is not so good. Being "too busy" was my normal and wasn't really such a good normal as I was more stressed than I realised, and wishing to be "less busy" so that I had more time for other things. On reflection, I also wonder if my being too busy was also a coping strategy of dealing with, or perhaps not dealing with, some of the fallout from life events??)

So for me, this season has come along and given me time to reset my life and reorder my priorities. Less travel, and therefore less expense, has taken some of the pressure to get that next quilt done to pay those bills. I have missed family visits, but there have been more phone calls to keep in touch. While retreats were part of the "busyness", there were also fun times with friends who shared my interest of quilting, and these have been missed. For the first time in a long time, even though I live alone, because I always had lots of people in and out of here, it has meant getting used to being "on my own." The compensation has been time to work on my own projects, and to spread my "stuff' out all over the table space. (And there is no one here to see whether I dust or sweep or not!)

Isolation has also given me extra time to immerse myself in God's word. While this has been a morning habit for a long time now, sometimes it was a quick sit down, and get it done thing, and God was pushed slightly to the side. For some time now, I have been "listening" more, and these weeks have seen me spend more leisurely time reading, studying and really listening to what I hear. (Note that I have spread all over the table!)

While we have not been able to meet together physically as a church, it has been possible to "attend" many services online. I have also watched some great movies and listened to inspiring music. Listening to the TV and spending time on social media makes it so easy to give into feelings of fear about the future, but feeding on God's word has enabled me to stand firm in my faith and trust for the future. I can't change what has gone before but I can change what is ahead. I don't want to "get back to normal". I want things to be better.

I believe that what was intended for harm, God can use for good and change that will benefit us all. I am not looking forward to getting back to normal, I am looking forward to a different, new normal.

May you know faith instead of fear, and the peace that comes from above as we go ahead into the future.

Blessings, From Jude