New Year, New Normal

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I feel like a broken record, but when Covid-19 impacted our world last March, I wasn’t prepared to still be talking about it almost a year later. At least the first several months of 2021 will be touched by safety measures, vaccinations, and other things that have become a “new normal.” What if we looked for hard-won treasures in a hard-lived year that we could adopt as part of our new normal?

Look for the Vulnerable

I’ve always been a germaphobe, hand-sanitizing and wiping down menus long before 2020. Yet, my past behavior was self-serving; I don’t like being sick and I think germs are gross. However, in 2020, we were asked to wear masks not only to protect ourselves, but mostly to slow the spread to the most vulnerable. Regardless of where you stand on mask mandates, the complete shift in our social gatherings shone a light on others. May looking “out” rather than “in” be a new normal.

Embrace the Seasons

When the world came to a screeching halt mid-March, we were prompted to enjoy a simpler stay-at-home life. We planted, then daily went outside to check veggies, plants and flowers. We took more walks than ever before, enjoying chatting (from a distance) with neighbors we didn’t previously see. For the first time, I feel I truly embraced Spring, and was ready to welcome Summer, then Fall. In nature and life, I hope my new normal is to enjoy the current season, instead of anticipating the next.

Find Rest 

God placed a need for rest and sabbath deep within us, yet our fast-paced world doesn’t allow for or value it. It isn’t natural for me to go slow, pause and reflect, or be in the moment. However, after months of practice, it’s becoming a new normal. We can’t just cut out from life whenever we want, but we can put moments of pause into our daily, weekly, and yearly rhythm. 

Prioritize 

My close community is life-giving to me, so I found ways to connect through Zoom, FaceTime, phone calls or socially distanced gatherings. Living out the truth that “the Church” is wherever believers are gathered, we praised God for technology to connect us, His Word to daily feed us, and the opportunity to be a small house church as a family. I hope prioritizing what’s best over being busy is a new normal. 

No matter what we learned from 2020, one thing is certain: another hard season will come, yet God will still be in control and will overcome it. And while it’s easy to get bogged down with the stress, anxiety, and busyness of living on this earth, it’s my prayer that leaving the difficult behind, and taking with us the treasures we found along the way, will create “new normals.” Happy New Year to you, dear readers!

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. -  Philippians 3:13-14

Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us. We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. -  ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:7-9‬


 
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Meet the Author!

Heather McAnear is a wife, mom, author and speaker with a passion for sharing God's truth to help women understand their uniquely beautiful design and how to use it for God's glory! In fact, Heather hosts the Uniquely Beautiful Stories podcast on iTunes in hopes do just that! She loves teaching young married couples with her husband, homeschooling their three children, traveling the world, enjoying good chocolate and long conversations in coffee shops. CRBC has been her church home for two decades and she is thrilled to be part of the Women's Ministry team, helping women connect with each other and grow in their walk with Jesus!