Loving the New Normal

Summary

Any Christian survivor of hard times learns from hard experiences that with affliction, God gives us what we need to get through difficult times: strength of will, the fellowship of good friends, confidence in our convictions, hope for the future. All of this is built on awareness and acceptance in faith of the new normal. Accepting the new normal means bidding farewell to the old, knowing it may never return. Paul learned that through the dangers of his travels. John Knox learned that chained to the oar of a French galley. Paul Bresnahan learned it lying on a radiation table. Kate Bowler learned it as she resolved simply to be where she was. Survivors of natural disasters said farewell to their old lives, but learned to look forward rather than back, knowing the life they are living is still a good life.