Admittedly, I am a creature of habit.

In a typical week I attend the same meetings, check in on the same friends, have the same interactions with family members, watch the same shows and sporting events on television, listen to the same podcasts, stick to the same exercise routines, eat at the same restaurants, drive the same routes, enjoy the same activities at church, send the same emails, check the same social media accounts, make small talk with the same neighbors, and read the same (or at least the same kinds of) books. I have a routine, and I don’t mind it.

That’s not to say that I avoid change. I really enjoy visiting new places. And there’s something borderline adventurous about going for a walk downtown or driving out for ice cream when you would normally pack it in for the night.

We all get used to a certain pace of life. For most of us, I venture to guess that our typical pace is anywhere from steady to warp speed. Yet I also suspect that a great many of us have had that pace come to a near screeching halt over the past several weeks.

In the case of my family of six, there’s still the school assignments to keep up with. But instead of rushing everyone out the door early in the morning, the task is trying to fit everyone’s laptops, tablets, headphones, textbooks, papers, and pens around the dining room table. It can be hectic, but in a much different way.

Most of us have had to adjust to a “new normal.” And none of us knows for how much longer these adjustments will be necessary. Here’s what I’ve concluded: the new normal is not what I would have chosen, but it might be exactly what I needed. That is, in every area except one.

Let me clarify. For some, this pandemic has meant loss of life, loved one, or employment. If I’m being honest, this crisis has really not been that much of a crisis for me, at least not yet. God’s grace and mercy to us at this point has been evident and abundant. By no means do I want to minimize the very real hurt or stress that has been experienced by countless others during this time.

I simply mean that I could probably get used to a “new normal” in many parts of life. Yes, I want people (including myself) to be able to return to work very soon. I want sports to return. I want to go back to handshaking and hugging and dinner parties and eating out and family gatherings. But even most of those things could deal with a new normal.

• A new normal for family life might be that we don’t always have to be “on the go,” but that we grow to appreciate simply being under the same roof together.
• A new normal for sports might be that we still enjoy the competitions, but we don’t let them rule our schedules.
• A new normal for economics might be that we are more generous to others, more content with less, more willing to support small businesses, “essential” workers, churches, and missionaries, and more appreciative of the paychecks we do get.

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