Back to "Normal"

The wreaths, trees, greenery, creche, lights and candles are all down. Everything is back to normal...yea, right!

Earlier this year, I went to a women's conference. the speaker remarked about her time spent saying, "This is it!" over, and over, and over, and over...until she "got" it. I think that's my definition of "normal" - "THIS is IT!" This moment is normal. If I wasn't doing this, I'd be doing something else normal.

Very often, I catch myself asking, "Why is this my life?" or "Why do I miss them so much?" It's disturbing to me when I do ask these questions, because they never really get answered. Recently, however, someone answered the second question for me. "Because they're yours," was the reply. Bingo. The answer to the first question is probably the same: because it's yours. It's almost become a mantra for me. Because it's yours. Because you're normal!

It may not always feel comfortable, but normal is just life. All the joy and hurt and excitement and disappointment and laughter and crying...Normal.

The church feels bare, being back to normal. Lots of people won't even notice. This afternoon, we're taking down our own tree and decorations...getting the house back to normal. I'll miss the tree; I'll miss sitting and looking at the ornaments and remembering the occasions they represent. But they'll be back, like normal, in mid-December.

In the meantime, this is it!