The valleys will be filled,
and the mountains and hills made level.
The curves will be straightened,
and the rough places made smooth.
Luke 3:5 (NLT)
My friend, Jan, is a brand new grandmother of a baby girl. She has been hanging around in cold Colorado since Christmas, awaiting the birth of this precious baby rather than enjoying the warmth and sun of Arizona. However, I know the feeling. The expectation and joy are overwhelming and you just need to be there.
My daughter was born on January 10th so I can really relate to the timing of this grandbaby. I remember how long the days seemed after the rush of the Christmas holidays ended, before the arrival of this new little one in our home. Then once she was here, I could never seem to catch up. In the back of my mind, I would ask myself if things were ever going to get back to normal.
When Mel was about 6 weeks old, I was rocking her after the 2 AM feeding and looking at her sleeping face in the moonlight. I kept thinking of all undone things that stared back at me each day: laundry, shopping, cooking, cleaning…. actually anything. For the thousandth time, I wondered if things were ever going to get back to normal. As I sat there praying, I realized that no, it would never be the same. I felt as if my Heavenly Father said to me, “We are going to now have a ‘new’ normal around here and the sooner you accept that premise, the more contented you will be.” That night was a turning point and the daily demands began to fall into place.
I have since found out that we have “new normals” all of our life. Some are easy and fun, some are not and the adjustments can be difficult at any age. But, the glue that holds it all together is the God who gives us strength each day. He is the one who smoothes the rough path and makes it straight.
This baby is well loved by all around her. So are we.