The old saying, “The way to hell is paved with good intentions” has some truth. I don’t profess that what has kept me from this blog was necessarily a carrier to hell, but surely my intentions to share regular words of inspiration and encouragement were derailed. It has been so long since I opened my website, I forgot how to do log on. That’s a sad commentary, but a truthful one. At any rate, here I am again; hopefully with more staying power this time around.
When my beloved husband of 35 years made his transition to heaven eleven years ago, I declared a “new normal” as a way of describing my life at the time. I have come to understand that the longer we live, the “new normal” multiplies and we add more and more of them to our life story. At this writing I am perhaps at “new normal” # 5 and counting! The good news is that no matter the season of life we’re in and how many “new normal” notches we’ve added to our life belts, our constancy has been and is Jesus Christ. The plans God had for us before we even drew breath continue to unfold; and if we embrace His sovereignty in all things, we will discover the Savior out front leading, guiding, protecting, favoring and extending His grace each time a “new normal” springs up.
I found this to be true mostly recently when He allowed me the opportunity to traverse the footsteps of the Apostle Paul through Greece, Turkey and Rome on a fourteen day odyssey with a group of fellow Christian believers led by a Jewish tour guide who embraces Christianity. Aside from a trip to the Holy Land to walk in the footsteps of Jesus in Israel and Egypt in 2010, I had not done international travel. My appetite is wetted. I have yet another “new normal”: septuagenarian world traveler eager for the next adventure. God’s favor was upon me the entire trip and His peace was palpable throughout my sojourn in those foreign lands. A “new normal” is the norm for all who trust God on the ultimate journey to eternity.