Embracing Adventure When You Want Life To Get Back To Normal

By Juliana Gordon

Juliana Gordon is a pastor’s wife and a Moms in Prayer area coordinator in Southern California. You can find her at www.julianagordon.com or on Instagram at @julianagordonwriter.

Back in the 1980s, Coca-Cola came out with a new formula. The “New Coke” was supposed to be an improved and superior product, but many people, including pre-teen-aged me, did not like it. Within months the original formulation returned, and our soda-drinking lives returned to normal. I was relieved when I could once again choose my “Classic Coke.”

While a soda reformulation does not seem like it is worth getting your nose bent out of shape, maybe there is some other life-altering adjustment with which you can identify. The pandemic in 2020 brought many challenges, and one of those was change. I live in a populous state greatly affected by the virus, so that means adjusting, even now—how I work, shop, go to church, and spend time with friends. Add to that the changes that God allows in our lives, common and uncommon, and it seems like we will never get back to “normal.”

I love normal. I turn to it like a plant seeking the sun. It is reassuring and comfortable. My first reaction to change is to reject it, mostly because I don’t know what to do with it. You wouldn’t easily accuse me of being a flexible person. Normal holds a special place in my heart. When I put it that way, it saddens me. It’s okay to be a person who loves routine, but not above all else. It’s okay to want a hard situation to be easier, but it’s not okay to pout and wallow when it doesn’t change overnight. It’s okay to want life to go back to normal, but if “normal” has become an idol in my heart, I don’t want to go back to normal. As I’ve pondered 2021, I want to embrace it for the journey God wants me to have, whether nothing changes or everything changes. I want to trust in Him and live out my faith, even when change makes it feel difficult. I want to shed familiar habits that aren’t serving me well anymore. I want to face it with a sense of adventure and an open heart.

God uses His Word to remind us to have this attitude. There are many accounts in the Bible of people–Sarah, Jonah, Joseph, son of Jacob, to name a few who thought life would go one way. But God sent them in a different direction than they expected. I can learn from their mistakes and their successes to have the faith to follow where God wants me to go. Also, Proverbs 16:9 (ESV) tells us that “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” While I may make preparations and have ideas about how life will go, I desire to surrender to God my steps. I want to let Him chart a way that may not even be on my map.

God, My heart struggles with the love of the familiar, even when it is not the choice You want me to make. Help me cling to Your Word and hold loosely to my plans. May my faith and trust in You grow through uncertain times. May I run to You for comfort instead of my sense of normal or familiar circumstances. Thank You for ordering my steps.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.