the new “norm”

I remember when our kids were born.  Each time we would have a child, there was a big time of adjustment that came along with having a baby around again.  Sleeping habits, eating schedules, going out… it all changed.  Then, soon, the new changes became the norm. Until another change.  Then, that ushered in the new norm. Until another change…

That’s kind of how life evolves right? Norms change and become the new norms… until they’re not anymore.

2010 has been a year of constantly changing norms for us.  A wedding. A son in law. A granddaughter. A graduation. A job change. A new business. A missionary family living in our basement.

A daughter moving out of the country.

This week, we took our 18 year old to the airport and put her on a plane to Trinidad, where she will live for 10 months and learn what missionary life is like.

Which is a hard thing to do.

When other kids are heading to college, and meeting new roommates, and partying in dorms, and staying up late, and going out…. my daughter has chosen to move to a foreign land and live the life of a missionary.  It’s a bold move.

It’s a move that brings me to my knees daily.  Praying that God would give her strength, and health, and discernment, and safety. 

And now, it’s really really quiet around our house.  Right now, at this very moment, I’m home alone.  I can hear the fan on my computer.  I can hear the ice maker kick in.  I can hear the washing machine wash.  It’s quiet.

And this.  This is the new norm.  For now, I am called to pray for my kids… my daughter in another part of the state, my daughter and her husband that live in the basement here, my granddaughter, and my daughter in Trinidad, the missionary.  That God would do a work in all of their lives, and draw them closer to Him.

Some norms are easier than others.  This particular norm… this quiet one…. is going to take a little while to get used to.  This one… I will welcome the end and the transition to the next new norm.