Longing for Normal

Week 12, Weekend

Dianne Dougharty

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:9-10

Normal . . . sometimes I long for my life to be normal. I was recently at a friend’s home feeling quite sorry for myself as we gathered there for a party. The women attending appeared to be living normal lives. There were no apparent problems or issues. Their lives seemed so good compared to where God had me at that particular time. My life was anything but normal and I longed for normal.

Days later, I awoke in the night, lying there thinking about normal and the normal life I longed for. That morning, I decided to get the dictionary and look up the word normal. Definitions include “ordinary, average, and standard.” Then I looked up ordinary, and it said, “normal, having no exceptional quality, common, average, and plain.” I began to wonder if I would exchange all I have gained along this journey to live the normal life again. At times I have grumbled and complained, wanting to go back to my house, the job, the salary package, and all the pleasures my normal life had afforded me.

Sound familiar? Exodus 16:2-3 says,

The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The sons of Israel said to them, ‘Would that we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. (nasb)

They longed for their normal life back in Egypt, a life of slavery!

Who in their right mind would choose to go back to slavery? Why do we want to go back to the things that enslaved us when God desires so much more? Exodus 16:12 says, “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God” (nasb). His desire was that His children know Him as the Lord God.

Along this journey I have come to know Him as my Lord God, my Jehovah Jireh, my peace, my refuge, my strong tower, and so much more!

Father, thank You for this desert journey and that normal is not what You desired for me. My heart knows You in a way that it would not have known You, if not for this journey. I’m not going back! Amen.