Getting Used to New Normal

The road is uncharted.

The future has not been invented.

While the ultimate outcome is guided by providential, magnanimous grace, the path is still being cut out of the rough terrain of the present and near future.

We cannot predict every contingency. We cannot foresee nor can we forestall every challenge. Knowing what we know, would we have decided what we decided?

Would we have avoided every loss and insured only gain? Would we have sidestepped the pain, suffering, and heartache?

That would be "insider trading" and it would be cheating.

We make the best decisions based upon what we know and upon the guidance God gives us in the moment.

The, we adjust. Our new normal scenarios present a mix of opportunity and obstacle and require us to change things about our attitudes,?lifestyles, and beliefs about what we can and cannot cope with.

When things dramatically change, we must change in a number of superficial ways in order to preserve and flourish in the essential nature of who we have been created, equipped, and called to be.

We are involved in shaping and being shaped and we have lots of choices to make and tools to make those choices with.?

I am just exploring this as I travel a path of change, adjustment, and synchronization to some new normal realities in my life. Perhaps the acronyms upon which I am reflecting will help provide a starting place for identifying some of the tools we could each use.

This NEW NORMAL is first,?NEW.

Newness comes delivered to our doorsteps in various packages. Sometimes it comes with beautiful gift wrapping and a bow. Sometimes, it is stuffed in a tattered trash bag. Let's spell out the concept that what is inside is not defined by its packaging.

N?- It is NEW for what it is?NOT.

It is not what we had before. It is not what we had grown accustomed to experiencing. It is not the old, the tried, the true, or the comfortable. It is new.

E?- It is NEW for different?EXPECTATIONS.

The kinds of new normal experiences with which we are confronted will not have the same possibilities as the old. We cannot always get to where we were going by the new route. We will lose some things and we will gain some things.

W?- It is new for its?WEALTH?of possibilities.?

Doors have closed. Some possibilities have been enveloped in a sea of of what was and will not be again. But there always were more possibilities than we knew. The task it to discover, uncover, and explore them.?

This NEW NORMAL is now,?NORMAL.

Normality is a benchmark and a launch pad. It may not always be normal, but it is for now.

N?-?Normality indicates the presence of an active?NARRATIVE.?

Our lives are stories with multiple chapters. We cannot thumb through the tables of contents or skim along to the final paragraphs of each chapter or the last chapter and get ahead of ourselves. We have to live the stories and stay in one chapter at a time.

The constant in each is the grace of God.

O-?Normality points toward?ORDER.

It is not what we had before. It is not what we had grown accustomed to experiencing. It is not the old, the tried, the true, or the comfortable. It is new. There is an organization that creates a stability that sustains us in the process. Without this stability, we are rocked about in a constant state of crisis. We cannot live that way. Order is a?reminder of the Rock that provides ultimate stability.

R?-?Normality is?REALITY.

It is where we live for now. As much as any earthly address can be, it is our permanent forwarding address. We reside in the present until some future change takes us to a new present. We are in this world until we leave it and go to our permanent home.

M - Normality is Momentary.

Whatever is normal today, is likely to be rare, extraordinary, or obsolete tomorrow. Everything changes. Change is the only thing that does not change. Change is normal. We must anticipate it, prepare for it, and celebrate it.

The people who do not get stuck in inertia will adapt more profitably.

A-?Normality is?ARBITRARY,??but not ultimately,?AUTHORITATIVE.

It is what it is. We can spend all of our time questioning "why" and "why me," or we can get on with the adjustments and make the bast of what we have.

A-?Normality comes with?LIMITATIONS,??than can?LIBERATE?

They can us to experience growth we have never imagined, profound growth, and the unleashing of potential to live our lives with greater significance and deeper satisfaction.

?I am dealing with mine right now and you are dealing with yours. At some point, I may come back and edit with with more personal anecdotes and reflections. However, at this moment, I am fleshing it all out and will leave it dangling for you to work out your own.

In many ways, we are all on this journey together.

God is with us and we have each other.

"Getting Used to New Normal" is a somewhat deceptive title.

Better, get used to the concept that normal will change and be eager to adapt.

-----------------------------

Stay in Touch:?My LinkTree

Coaching/Mentoring :?Schedule time with me

For coaching and mentoring, the first consultation is complimentary.

-----------------------------