I take out my phone at the airport to scan a code, then pull down my mask before I can go through the metal detectors to board my plane. It’s just normal. Though none of this was normal for the first two-thirds of my life. In the past, plane tickets would be mailed to you or you would check-in at the airport and pick them up at the front counter. Whoever brought you to the airport would be parking the car and then--if they had the time--accompany you down the terminal to wait with you until you got on your plane. No mask, no metal detector just friends and family hanging out with you until you got on your plane.
Yes, things in life change. Grocery shopping has changed. I like going into the store to make sure I find the type of item I want, at the price I want; however, you’d never have to set foot in a grocery store again if you prefer that. You can grocery shop online and someone else picks the items off the shelf and boxes them up for you. Then by pulling up your car to the store and popping your trunk open, these groceries are loaded in. Or, you can have them delivered right to your door. And speaking of your door, there is almost nothing you can’t get ordered and delivered to your home, including your favorite food. It’s not just the traditional pizza delivery anymore. Most restaurants will deliver, and if they don’t then one of the many delivery services will gladly bring it to your door. Yes, things have changed.
Some changes we may like, some. . . not so much. I’m not sure when I will again grace the inside of a movie theater. Why would I when most movies are released on one of the streaming services for half the price it would cost me and Holly to go to the theatre together? And though some movies are now being released “only in theaters,” give it a month or so, and if not free through one of the streaming services, it will be available there for less. (I kinda do miss the movie theater popcorn though; it’s tough to beat that!)
So as things get back to normal, we may need to realize that “normal” has changed. If you look the word up you will find the following definition: The usual, average, or typical state or condition. So when does the different become the usual or typical state? I think the key in that definition is the word “average.” That which is a middle ground over a period of time. So over a period of time, we get back to normal, or what the new average way of doing this is. This becomes our “new normal” as some say.
We have been working at the new normal for the past year and a half here at 21860 S. Pontiac Trail in South Lyon. We started meeting with chairs in pods, scattered around the gym as we picked up the prepackaged communion supplies on our way in. We slowly moved into rows, spaced the recommended distance apart, and brought the communion trays back out. Though even with the trays, we now have the bread placed in its own little cup, so no one touches another piece. A long way from breaking a bit of the cracker off as it is passed down the row. Oh, yeah, the new normal doesn’t have anything passed down the row. Instead, the items are carried by masked men—well, they have dropped the masks now.
I say all of this to point out that we are moving forward as we move back to where we were. Moving forward on some things; others will be forever left behind. I hope you take a second to check the monitor by the welcome desk. You see we may not be back to the old normal, but as we go forward we need to start being who we are meant to be in the Kingdom. We need to move forward, continuing to be mindful of others and aware of potential problems, but also continuing to advance the Kingdom and being reminded of why we are here on this Earth. Enjoy the different slide shows--like ones we had in the past--as we move toward our eventual eternal normal.
Because He Loves,
Randy
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