The Beauty of Normalcy
April 7, 2016
My life has looked relatively the same for the past six months. Working at the same job during the day, running the same blog (this one, if you didn't know), living with the same roommate, walking through the same neighborhood in the evenings, going to the same church on Sunday mornings, visiting the same grocery stores... you get what I'm saying.
My life is very normal.
I caught up with an old friend recently who asked "so what's new with you?" and I realized I didn't have much to say. I'm still doing the same things I was doing the last time he and I chatted.
My life is just really normal.
At first, I felt frustrated by this. I searched my brain (and even scrolled back through my own Instagram feed) trying to think of new things in my life to share. Sure, I've been to a few new restaurants and hung out with a few new friends and read some new books, but nothing was particularly noteworthy.
I caught myself feeling less-than, boring, uninteresting. I started trying to think of what I could change in my life to make it more exciting so I would have a better answer the next time that question came up...
But then I stopped. And I got real with myself. I thought about all those normal things in my life and I realized I love them all. I realized I'm truly, deeply happy with my life. I'm incredibly grateful for a job that is fulfilling and fun and perfectly aligned to my interests, I love the roommate I live with and the apartment we call home, I'm a huge fan of my city and the places I frequent within it. I'm learning new things, growing in my faith, and discovering new things about God every day.
The normal is good.
The normal is beautiful.
ALL THE NORMAL OF MY LIFE IS GIVING GOD MORE ROOM TO DO NEW THINGS IN MY HEART.
My word for this year is rhythm, and I'm learning a lot about what good, steady rhythms look like in my normal life. They're nothing extraordinary. They're nothing remarkable, really, but they're changing the fabric of my days in a way that is important.
Sure, there are times I wish my life was a grand, thrilling adventure, but mostly, I just want my life to be good, to be purposeful, to have significance and meaning. I'm good with the normal, because I know God is in the normal, too.
I'm not as distracted, not as frazzled, not as overwhelmed. I have more room in my life to sit at the feet of Jesus and let Him speak to me. I have more space available in my schedule to let Him work instead of days crammed so full that He gets pushed out.
This normal life feels like a solid foundation, the more I think about it. It feels like I'm learning these rhythms and crafting this routine that is giving my heart a stable stronghold to build the rest of my life on, and I'm realizing the value of that more and more.
I want to create a life that gives Him ample room to reign as first and foremost and above all else. I want to live a life that is glorifying to Him, even when it feels mundane or less than exciting.