My friend, Leah, has written numerous times about what a "new normal" has looked like in her life.  She transitioned a few times in the past 2 years, from getting married and moving states, to having a baby, to moving states again recently, and very soon here she'll be moving again to plant a church in my hometown of Philly with her husband, Brad.  Leah has talked about how her life was normal, but when big change and transition happens, she's had to find a new normal.  (She talks about it much more eloquently than I am right now:)  But nonetheless, I'm going to steal her term for this post and apply it to my own life these past 6 months.

Life in Michigan had its normalcy to it…friends, church, work, apartment/roommate, city, etc.  No type of normal existed for a few months of transition between last spring and summer.  Then I moved down here to DC, knowing a new normal would take some time to ease into.  

For a couple of months I couldn't work, make friends, jump into a church, or get to know my city…this was not the normal I was looking for.  I did not want this to become normal for me for any amount of time.

After those first couple of months, a few of those things changed and I began to see small specks of normalcy, but of course this would still take time.

More and more, as time has gone on, I have been able to experience moments of my new normal.  It hasn't spread to every area of my life yet-that's for another post, down the road…later in the year, hopefully.  It has been really fun to watch this unfold though.

I've been elated to become a part of the lives of several students in Alexandria, and to have developed friendships with some of the most incredible people I've ever met.  Let's just say that I'm really impressed with how God has been working my life out.  That's not to say that there haven't been so really dark challenges to face, that I'm still walking through even now, but He has placed people in my everyday life that walk in an abundance of joy…that are overflowing with Jesus' love…that enjoy soaking in His presence (and this is evident)…that are authentic…that keep positive attitudes (even when that's hard)…and that are deep-belly-laughing fun people to spend time with.  

For example, I recall a few weeks ago when the Blizzard of 2010 was first hittin' us hard and I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with some of these folks.  Sometime around the 2nd or 3rd day I realized that my jaw was hurting me really bad…but it was because I had been laughing so much.  Now that's a great reason for pain.

Last night I had the opportunity to spend some quality time praying with some friends-a couple of whom I just met last week.  I was overwhelmed at this realization, once again, that God has done an excellent job of surrounding me with people that have helped to create a new normal for me.  It's been a very busy week…which has certainly become normal.  But amongst the normal busyness, He's given me direction with people to be centered around Him.  That's a new normal that will impact me for years to come, and hopefully it will also impact others in some way as well.  So grateful to Jesus.