Read: Luke 2:25-40
“ … and then it will go back to normal.”
It is enticing to think about how different the world was during the pandemic how kept asking "but will it ever be normal?" I am sure Joseph and Mary felt the same way:
- “After we get back from the census it will get back to normal.”
- “After we get back from Egypt everyone will speak Hebrew again.”
- “When Jesus has some brothers and sisters, it will feel more normal.”
Even when they achieved these things, it’s possible their question was, “what is normal?” Can we ever go back to what things were? Mary and Joseph’s experiences changed them, and so even when they went back home or moved on with their lives there was no normal to return to. They had been changed by God. The young girl that left for Bethlehem and then fled to Egypt returned to Nazareth a much different person. Mary was now a young mother who had grown in her relationship with God.
The same goes for us – situations come and go but the only ‘normal’ is to what extent we are walking with God through it all. In other words – we don’t hope for something to go back to – we hope that God grows us into something different. Our lives are changed by Christ no matter where we find ourselves.