O2. New Normal, Same God

It is December 31, 2019. We countdown to a brand new year and a brand new start. I bet it is safe to say that we didn’t think 2020 would present itself as the exact opposite of what we meant when we told each other Happy New Year.

January 3, Over 200 wildfires burned across the region in Australia, causing over 140 000 residents and tens of thousands of vacationers to evacuate before they were trapped. Those fires devastated the country, burning an estimated 46 Million Acres of land, destroying over 5,900 buildings and homes, causing 34 deaths and killing and negatively impacting over 3 billion animals. It cost Australia over 4 billion dollars in damage. And that was just Australia.

On January 4, China noticed a strange outbreak in Wuhan where 44 people were infected with a new Sars Virus. And while we were used to hearing about diseases in other countries, we had no idea that something so far removed would impact us in our very own homes.

On January 8, 2 Iranian missiles mistakenly took down Ukrainian Flight 752, a domestic flight carrying 176 passengers. All of them died. And by the time January 26 rolled around, having already been fatigued with death, fires, floods, wars, government scandal and destruction, we hear about the sudden death of Kobe Bryant. January was a rough month. But it was only the beginning. 

In February, The mysterious virus had a name yet; it still seemed very far. I thought, “That is not my problem. That is in China. It doesn’t affect me here in Canada”. But by the end of the month, Corona Virus dug its heel in the ground. In March, everything unravelled. Canada went into a state of emergency. Offices locked down, people sheltered in place and the world as we knew it stopped.

I admit I thought that this pandemic would’ve wrapped up by April. April came and went, as did May, June, July and August. September gave us two weeks of normalcy, and then we went on lockdown again. Church shut down; schools closed, offices were closed, and businesses big and small suffered. Everything had changed, and we all had to learn to adapt fast.

People lost jobs (me included), lost lives, and lost everything recognized as normal. There is comfort in routine. There is comfort in knowing the who, what, where, when and why of your surroundings. That familiarity helps us navigate through the world. I had a routine that I knew like the back of my hand. On Sundays, I woke up, helped with breakfast, showered, got ready and went to church. My seat was in the third section, last chair, back row (closest to the fan!). I’d put my stuff down, say my hellos and how are yous and make my way up to the platform where I sat with the praise team on the left side of the stage by the musicians—second chair from the left. We’d mic check, adjust our fan if it was hot that day, turn the speakers towards ourselves, hold hands and say a quick prayer before service started. That routine has since ceased to exist. As simple as that example is, it serves as a reminder of what we’ve come to know. Things can change abruptly, and it is integral that we learn to readjust accordingly. It is apt for our survival. 

We have learned to embrace change, welcome growth, and cheer progression, but NOT at the cost of the comfort of our pace or rhythm. The children of Israel became perfect examples of this, complaining about their wilderness experience (Exodus 16). Instead of recognizing the miracle of freedom and deliverance from the hands of Pharoah, they chose to complain about the meals that they no longer had, resigning to the idea that it would’ve been better for them to still be in bondage. Slavery, as debilitating to the human body and humiliating to the human psyche as it was, was deemed better than the table that God had prepared before them. Because what was presented to them was change. Routine, good or bad, look incredibly appetizing when change produces a palate that our taste buds are not used to.

Don’t get it twisted; there is nothing wrong with routine, nor is there harm in keeping healthy habits. But if this pandemic has shown me anything, it is this. Habits cannot become our havens. We cannot afford to cloud our vision with grandeur thoughts of what used to be. Habits are what we do, NOT who we are. Our salvation is not found in a church seat or ministry position but in our posture before God, where we are to flow with the river of life.

God used the wilderness to finetune Israel’s senses, grow their strength, increase their faith, build their testimony and allow them to learn how to readjust to their “new normal.”

Our “normal” has changed, and the walls we’ve used to protect that normalcy have crumbled away. This pandemic left us exposed to the reality that what we found solace and safety in was never really our safety net. Our new normal is masks and mandates, cries of social justice with the tears of mothers mourning sons whose blood paint the streets red at the hand of those who swore to protect us. There is a lack of trust in government, medicine, media, journalism, family and friends, coworkers and community. Everything is different now. And that is by God’s design. This pandemic was not a surprise to God and shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone who pays attention to the sign of the times. 

God has been consistent through the ages, including pandemics. If there is one thing I have learned during the past two years, God is God regardless, and it is our responsibility to move in alignment with him.

This may be our new normal, but there are still good days ahead. I refuse to believe that the best days are behind me and that I am stuck having to lament what it was like to leave my house without worrying about lipstick smearing my mask—a minor first-world problem, albeit but still. You have good days ahead of you! God knew we would be here, and he has prepared us with the tools to adapt, survive and thrive in these times. 

We are built for this. The sooner we learn to adapt, the more prepared we will be when rolling with the punches because the punches are coming with full force. We may live in the new normal, but I am confident because we serve the Same Consistent God.

Love Always, AB