Restrictions are lifting in my state. The common reactions are euphoria, guarded optimism, or fear of leaving the house too soon. I fall somewhere between guarded optimism and fear. What about you?
Maybe, I am too cautious. Maybe, I want to see how things pan out before venturing out into very public places. Or maybe, I am being smart about the whole thing. It doesn’t matter where you fall in this continuum. The bottom line is that maybe what we are calling a new normal is really a “new different.”
The normal we knew is gone. We can replicate moments, certain routines, and daily schedules to a degree, but is that what we want? There is a depth to my relationships that is intentional and compassionate that I want to continue in this time of embracing a “new different.”
Choosing a New Path
A dear friend and I met for coffee recently. At this time, no coffee shops were open that allowed indoor seating so we went through the drive-thru line and ordered our favorite drinks. We met in the parking lot in our cars and rolled down the windows to talk. So much life had happened, even in quarantine, that we needed to catch up on.
My friend and I began our conversation barely coming up for air. Midway through, the words “new different” rolled off the tongue of my friend. I had to pause right then and there. I knew those two words were the ones I was claiming for this life we are now living.
For the last two months or more life has been stagnant in some ways and fruitful in others. The choice was not ours, but the Way still leads us forward. I am not the person who is willing to choose a new path especially if the destination is unknown. Everything about sheltering in place was new, uncertain, and has tested my ability to live alone without the contact of family. It’s like hiking on an unfamiliar path that you pray will lead you back to where you started.
It’s okay to walk forward when the way is not clear. Our desire to let God lead us through surrender and faith will lead us closer to Him. It works the same whether we are walking a new normal or a new different. God has never left our sides.
What is Your New Different?
Life is in a state of change. Many people are ready to go back to the way things were and just move on with life. I understand this way of thinking. It’s as if the virus will be over if we find a way to move forward and grab onto the routines we followed before it happened.
Maybe, letting go and just getting on with life is not the answer. Maybe, you and I need to stop and claim the good that transpired during these months of sheltering in place. And maybe, naming the things that grew out of this “new different” will help us see the good God is working on behind the scenes.
My new different looks like:
New intentionality in staying close to my kids. Grown kids have their own lives and I respect that, but in this time of isolation we had a conversation early on as to what it could like for us to check in on each other daily. The gift of connecting with my family is one that I am praying we will carry forward.
A sweet quiet time each morning where there is no agenda except time with God.
The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever. Isaiah 32:17
Daily walks when the weather cooperates. If you know me, even just a little, you know my love of walking and hiking outside. I feel most like myself in the outdoors where God is present in a way that is indescribable.
Praying for family and friends in the moment, as soon as the request comes through, and not waiting until later when I might forget. There have been many text messages filled with prayers. God honors those requests as much as any other ones.
What’s Next?
This is such a good question with no easy answer. The unknown is still either driving us crazy or leading us straight into the arms of Jesus. We have a choice in this season just as we do in all the others. What choices will you make as your state begins to open up and you are faced with your new different?
All I know is that the days I keep God at the center are the days I am not anxious or fearful and much more productive. There is a steadiness and underlying hope that exists all because of God.
Peace reigns because God lives. Love spills over because we choose God. Hope is our stronghold as face each new day because God is the foundation upon which we stand.
We choose a destination each day. All I know is that when God is my destination, I am secure in who I am and focused on living well in the present.
Are you unsure of what’s next? Are you still hovering between cautiously optimistic and fearful? May these words from Bonnie Gray, in Whispers of Rest: 40 Days of God’s Love to Revitalize Your Soul, send you on your way.
We hear people say we are living a "new normal." What, if instead, life looks more like a "new different"? #newpost #TellHisStory #linkup Share on XBut God is longing to be more than a destination. He’s offering me His hand instead of a map. God is inviting me to a new way of living–and I believe this invitation is for you, too … A quite Voice is calling us to stop–stop worrying and planning for tomorrow as a distraction–and listen to what He has to say to us today.
Stay focused, live in the present, and start each day with a grateful heart that God granted you another day.
Blessings,
I loved this post when I read it the first time and I love it still this second time! Our world is ever changing and we need to see these changes and ask the Lord how we are to live in the midst of the flux and flow. He alone will keep us on a solid path. This >> “Stay focused, live in the present, and start each day with a grateful heart that God granted you another day.” Amen. I always appreciate your words, Mary!
Thank you, Joanne! It’s a blessing to know that my writing encourages you. Some of my posts still are pertinent to today. I love how God works that way.
Dear Mary,
I enjoyed your post thoroughly. You have expressed a lot of the same thoughts I’ve had as our state opens up also. One of the lines from your post that resonated with me was “It’s like hiking on an unfamiliar path that you pray will lead you back to where you started.” While I’ve been glued to my computer in a very familiar place, the path I’m walking is unfamiliar and encumbered by the constant concern of disinfecting everything as our older son walks in from his daily job or hubby comes back from the grocery run. I am grateful for our son’s presence and the grocery runs hubby does but I do feel confined here. However, the time at home has offered an opportunity to write that I would not have taken with my normal schedule–which is not that demanding in retirement. I am so grateful for ZOOM where our groups have connected and video chats on Sunday afternoons. Talks with my extended family in California have become much more frequent as we all share a concern for each other’s well being. Yet,I am looking forward to seeing the faces I miss so much and walks in cooler places–we’ve had several 100+days already!
I also have been doing a lot of disinfecting. I just feel we don’t know enough about the virus. I also understand the blessing of having time to work on writing projects. Only God could see what we couldn’t. Thank you for joining in the conversation.
So much to ponder here, Mary. I can see many good things that have grown out of these last few months. I’m not willing to move forward unchanged. But like you, I prefer “new different” to “new normal.” As you say, “Peace reigns because God lives.” It was true before Covid-19, and it remains true now. I’m so thankful for that.
You shared some of those good things over at your place this week. I loved reading about all of your spring things. Let’s walk together in peace into the new different.
I really enjoy your perspective on the “new different,” Mary. Thanks for this encouragement!
Thank you for joining in the conversation, Sarah! I don’t know what things are like where you live, but I hope you have found your way forward into the “new different.”
Sounds like a rhythm I would enjoy. Saying a prayer for you now as you navigate your new normal.
Thank you for praying. I hope you find your new rhythm as things begin opening up where you live.
I am looking forward to our provincial and federal parks opening up next week so can walk and hike and take photos again in those areas! I know it will be different due to adapting to the open spaces with the social distancing rules that can be somewhat stressful (am I far enough away from that stranger so they don’t feel uncomfortable?). I’ve never liked the term “new normal” so appreciate you sharing your friends words of the “new different.” Much more fitting!
I hope you find lots of breathing space as you venture out into the parks to take your beautiful photos. May we embrace this “new different” with hope and grace.
Perfect! A new different. Perhaps this has taught us all to be dwellers. (Psalm 91)
Amen. I know we are not exactly on the same page when it comes to venturing out with fewer restrictions, but it is definitely a different time for all of us.
I suppose I have a different experience in that this CoVid19 time, while has been a little more restrictive, is not a new or different for me.
As you are aware Mary, I have been living with a new/different norm for the past 15 years with chronic health restrictions.
So enjoying time with the Lord while sheltering in place, social distancing, being very wise in public spaces, contacting family & friends from afar has been here for that 15 year period.
As it is for many with chronic health conditions or crippling mental health issues. We adapt, we count our blessings & move forward in His wisdom. 😀
Bless you,
Jennifer
You understand this season better than most of us. It’s a blessing to have your quiet confidence here to show us how you handle social isolation. Thank you for your grace and willingness to help us understand what it is like for you.
I like your phrase “the new different”. I have struggled with “new normal” because so much of what is described as that here is not something I will ever consider “normal” – not being able to stand within 2m of someone or give them a hug, not being able to meet together as church… I understand it’s necessary, but even though it looks set to go on like this for months longer here, it’s temporary, not normal.
I agree though that we should hold onto what God has been doing and teaching us in this time, and that we don’t have to go back to exactly how it was.
We are people who need the connection of other people. So when we are asked to social distance and even stay isolated in our own homes, we are being asked to go against what is normal. I pray we all find our way as restrictions are lifted and trust that God already has it figured out.
Mary, I love “new different” for “new normal” does not fit for me. Going back to what was does not seem like the right thing for anyone, but will be for some. During this whole two months, I have felt a sense of “urgency” knowing that so many needed the Lord. How do they get through these hard times without Him? So my new different includes more of my quiet way of sharing Jesus when I do encounter people. I am a senior and still do not do much public, not even going to my newly opened church. My state is open but I do not feel good about it. We have not even “peaked” yet with COVID-19 yet. So my new different is developing. Today, I met a friend and her family in the park and it was lovely. You have me pondering.
Calling this time “new different” provides a different perspective. It fits with how I am feeling and what I want to do as we move forward into the next season. I imagine that you are a gentle whisper of Jesus for many. You are right that there is an urgency to know Jesus. I am praying for you as your state begins to open up and you discover what that looks like for you.
“God has never left our sides.” This truth is so comforting, Mary. I love your deep reflection and encouragement. Thank you. Also for reminding me of a quote by Bonnie – that He is offering us a hand instead of a map. Thank you also for the refreshing photos! Love and blessings to you!
Thank you, Trudy! I can never get enough reminders that God is always with me. I’m glad you like the quote from Bonnie and it’s good to know you read her book, Whispers of Rest. Sending you lots of hugs.
“Stop worrying and planning for tomorrow” – a tall order indeed!
But it’s true I don’t want to waste what this time has given us. I think the main message has been, SLOW DOWN, and seek His face.
Powerful words that seemed appropriate for the current season we are living. The call to slow down has been a powerful message for me, too. With the slowing down has come intentionality in how I respond and react to the news that is swirling around me. Thank you for being here, Jerralea!
I fall in the same spectrum as you, Mary: between guarded optimism and fear. I am cautious by nature anyway, and it’s been amplified during this time, especially when I see others not being cautious around me. Our church begins meeting in person again this Sunday, but I’m not ready to be inside with so many people for that long. My husband is going to help with parking (not that I think there will be much of a need!) so at least he’ll be outside.
I love your phrase a new different. I’m not sure how my life will look through the rest of 2020, but a “new different” works for me. 🙂 Thanks for the encouragement.
I know we are feeling different things and when it comes to our states lifting restrictions we are all over the place. I don’t think that matters. I hope we recognize how life has changed and know this is okay. Thank you for sharing how you are feeling.
I think there is much to ponder about “new different” and I think it is too early to be really sure of the fruit of this time (good and not good). The length of the time has stretched resources within every aspect of our lives and much of the time has been spent more isolated than we have ever known. Beyond the health crisis, we have watched so many aspects of the society we live in go away that I think we will likely all need to grieve what we have lost. Even now with things slowly opening, some businesses that we frequented will be closed or perhaps gone.
God has certainly moved, but we have all been altered in many ways that we will need to assess and sometimes overcome. Our tendency to feel safe and not think a great deal about going out to almost any place will take quite some time to return on some level.
My post tomorrow will also point to something that is like the elephant in the midst of all this. For most of us who have been around this life a bit, we have been alive through many crises (personal, regional, and national), but always before what helped us through it was that we were called and gathered together in our places of worship to pray together and hold hearts and hands to encourage each other. This was taken from us and that has been this “different” time that is so significant and still does not give us a sense if or when it will return.
I agree it is too early to know the outcomes whether good or bad, but I hope we all stop and think about what is working currently that we want to carry forward. One thing is certain is the loss and grief that we will all experience in some form. There is a loss of businesses, jobs, and life as we knew it before. I look forward to reading your post to hear your thoughts about the loss of face to face church.
Good morning, dear Mary, what an eye-opening phrase, the “new different”. I have found myself being more intentional using people’s names on social media. That may sound small, but it is so powerful that Jesus knows our name and calls us by it. My heart has been all over the place with emotions during this time. Only He centers me. Only He gives me hope. This time of isolation is getting long. Like you, Jason and I are cautious, not too much too soon, if any. But Jesus wants us to look forward, not back. May you have a fabulous day, dear sister.
You shared what I am feeling and that is we are called by Jesus to look forward. It doesn’t matter how we move forward in this time of not knowing, but taking that first step is important. My emotions have also been running wild during this time of quarantine. Keep encouraging others and pointing them to Jesus.
My prayer for the new normal is that we don’t let the evil that has come to a head during this time (police shooting unarmed black women and men) piggyback with ‘new normal.’ We need to stand up against injustice in all its forms and not just accept it because it happens during a time of upheaval.
Such a beautiful and timely post, Mary! It’s absolutely so true that it’s a ‘new different’ because things are still very different than they were before. So much good, wrapped in with so much, not all bad but different. I’ve taken away a lot of good from this time as well.
There has been good wrapped up in the uncertain and frustrating. Thank you for sharing that you have taken away a lot of good in this season.
Amen! The senseless crimes that are occurring do nothing but create more division in our country. Thank you for the call to stand up to this injustice in all forms starting today and moving forward.
He is with us every step forward. He holds us close … and He is not afraid.
This truth brings me peace.
Such a beautiful truth, Linda! Thank you for sharing these truths with all of us.
“All I know is that the days I keep God at the center are the days I am not anxious or fearful.” Amen. Throughout my life, God has often removed the props I was leaning on, that I might lean on Him the more. It’s not been comfortable at first, but I always find Him fully capable and kind. May we carry the lessons we’ve learned and walk closely with Him no matter what comes next.
I love how you said that God is capable and kind. How wonderful that during this time we can rest knowing that truth. I am praying with you that we carry today’s lessons forward into the next season.
Mary, thank you for this beautiful reminder our God is at work in all things. May we not miss what He is doing in these days that are different.
I am standing with you in praying I do not miss what God is teaching me and the work He is doing in His people. I pray you and your family are all well.
Well, Mary, I can tell you have hit a nerve because I feel myself pushing against the idea of a “new different. ”
I want to move on as if we haven’t just experienced an international health crisis–which would be a huge waste of the work God has been doing.
So, thank you–I think…
It sounds like God is trying to get your attention and mine. It would be easier to pretend that things will go back to the way they were but God is not into easy. Thank you for being so honest about what you are feeling.