My new normal…..surgery, lack of balance, only one pair of shoes, can’t walk in the Disney parks anymore I have to use a scooter, and on it goes.
What is your new normal? It may be the loss of a loved one through death or unnatural circumstances. Sometimes it is hard to find the joy in life because of our new normal. Each of us here has had to adjust to something in our life. Some of you have endured far worse than my three amputations, but the sun rises tomorrow and we all have to step into that new day, our new normal. So, how can we open our eyes in the morning with any sense of joy?
How can we experience the joy of life when we feel God has abandoned us, even though deep down inside we know He hasn’t?
1. You are stronger that you know.
2. You deserve to be happy.
Some people claim, time heals all things, and many of you here can say, that is not true. But to recapture joy, we must slowly take baby steps towards joy.
3. You are not alone. HELPP: Hope, Encouragement, Love, Purpose, Perseverance. These are the baby steps I talked about a few moments ago. I have needed this too over the past few years: I have lost my sister to cancer, my uncle, my mother and my father in law and then a year of surgeries, plus I am a cousin of the Elvis family who lost their daughter, Heather. I am thankful for my friends and family who have HELPPED me through these past few years. You too have family and friends to give you hope, to put an arm around you to encourage and to love. You have a purpose in our new normal, and thus we have the will to persevere through all our new normals. Besides, our friends and family we have one last powerful ally in our attempts to recapture joy. That is Jesus Christ who promised that He would never leave us.
FOOTPRINTS
One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, One belonging to me and one to my Lord.
After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.
This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
“Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You’d walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”
He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you. Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you.”