A New Normal

Jane_M · November 2009

Halloween weekend I went on a retreat to Word of Life in Schroon Lake with the ladies from my church. The theme for the weekend was supposed to be "A New Chapter." On the ride up with the women from my church, I mentioned that I (and others on this thread) were having trouble finding "a new normal."

The first night of the retreat, when we entered the auditorium, I noticed that there was a box of kleenex on every other row. We were introduced to the keynote speaker, Carol Kent. I had never heard of her before. She proceeded to talk about how we all have pain...and she described various types of pain, including stating that some of us are probably dealing with health issues, etc. Then she begins to tell her story.

Carol was raised by Christian parents. She married a Christian man. They went into Christian ministry. They had one son who was a parents' dream. Voted most likely to succeed...was accepted into and attended Annapolis. He met a woman at church in Florida...they married on short notice due to his being transferred. The woman he married was divorced with two girls. The girls had been abused by the father.... In retrospect, it appears that over a period of time, the son become paranoid that the girls' biological father would harm them again.

Carol and her husband were away where Carol was speaking. The phone rang and when Carol's husband hung up the phone, he told her that their son had just been arrested for murder...he murdered the girls' father. Talk about a wake up call! Carol went on to tell how their lives had changed. Her son is in prison facing life without parole. However, he has gained his own mission field among the men in the prison and has affected the lives of a lot of these men and their families.

The rest of the retreat focused on "A New Normal." I bought Carol's book, entitled "A New Normal." God works in mysterious ways to get our attention...I was looking for a way to find my new normal and He gave it to me. It looks like there are a lot of people looking to find a new normal. After I read the book, I'll let you know what I find out.

In the meantime, have any of you found a way to find your new normal?

spar2 · November 2009

I am living a new normal but was forced on me, don't like being tired, don't like feeling a tightness around my chest all the time or the pain under my arm but I am living it. I would love to learn from you what the book says. I haven't felt normal since Jan 2004

Pure · November 2009

Thanks for this-where can you get the book?

Jane_M · November 2009

The book is written by Carol Kent. I bought mine at the conference, but I just checked on Amazon.com and you can get it there, too.

mbtlcsw01 · November 2009

Jane M what an inspiring story. My husband and I have served the Lord for 33 years. My husband left active duty in the Navy to go into ministry. He went to seminary at ORU and I got my social work degree. We raised 3 boys - homeschooled, all of it. 2 of my sons are now in recovery from drugs/alcohol--which genetically came from me. My mom was a warrior of Christ but died of BC. When I was dx last year, I had already learned that we are not always spared from heartache and trouble. As my wonderful sister says, "Life just keeps coming at ya." I've tried hard to learm that no matter what happens to me, God is not far. He stood by me during surgeries, chemo, all of it. I was so allergic to the chemo, they had to give it to me over 10 hours--should have taken 1 hour. I hung on to God--in the cleft he had for me surrounded by Him and His love. Hard to describe, but I knew I was never alone.

God doesn't do these bad things to us. He does not leave us. We are in His normal. Doesn't mean everything will always be perfect, but He is in it with us. Blessings to my sisters.

A New Normal

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