It’s been a while.
We are living in a pandemic that has swept across the entire globe. From lockdowns to quarantines, the COVID–19 virus has captured our attention and changed the way we do life. From state to state, even from city to city or county to county, normal is no longer normal. Everything has changed. Even as I write this article I am not sitting in my office as I normally would. I am writing from our makeshift office that my wife and I share. Normal isn’t normal anymore.
So where do we go from here? Do we long for normalcy? Do we long for life to get back to the way things were prior to COVID–19? Or are we longing for something else that we have disguised as normal?
It seems we find ourselves at a crossroads. Longing for the past but embracing the future.
Why do we long for the past?
Whether we like to admit it or not (I am one of those who do not like to admit it), we all have a sense of longing for the past in some regards. We long for the things of yesterday—conversations, interactions, relationships, and even material goods—and desire to hold them close. The things of yesterday may bring with them familiarity, comfort, and security. As human beings we desire these things whether right or wrong.
Why are we nervous for the future?
Future. The word itself stirs emotions and causes the mind to race at a rapid pace. Our fear of the unknown seems to rise to the top of the emotional chart. Why? Embracing the future and a new normal requires faith. It requires us to let go of the reigns of familiarity, comfort, and even security.
Faith is defined as complete trust or confidence is someone or something. Embracing a new normal requires each of us to have faith in someone or something. Ultimately the only One who holds our faith is Christ. Embracing the future requires us to put our hope and trust in the One who holds the entire universe in His hands; the One who placed the stars in the sky and knows their names; the One who created the world at the sound of His voice; the One who created you and me—every person on the planet—in the very image of Himself. Embracing the future spurs us to put our hope in Jesus.
While things may never go back to the way they were, let us hold fast to the confession of faith that is found in Christ. May we embrace this new day and new normal with expectation and excitement. Let us live with passion and boldness and not in fear or insecurity.
AW
Foundations 