“Normal Life Is Always Changing”

Originally Posted July 15, 2020

It was summer in the early ‘50’s and it was really HOT. The Saturday matinee was 10 cents…no I’m serious , it was 10 cents. I can still picture walking from 90 degree heat into the really cool air conditioning of the theatre… visibly sighing as the coolness sank into my bones.  It was at least a double feature, maybe a triple feature …. it always included a cowboy movie….Roy Rodgers or Johnny Mack Brown. The screen was so big, the colors vibrant… the “good guys” always won and the “bums” got their due. To top it off, I probably had a quarter for some popcorn or candy. It just didn’t get any better than this…… It was GREAT !!! That was almost 70 years ago, but I can picture it clearly. 

It’s amazing how certain memories stay with me after these many years, not necessarily important memories or life changing ones…but for some reason they  remain. Maybe it’s because life was simple then. It was “normal life” for a young kid. But normal life has a way of changing. Not too long after that we moved back to St. Louis after my father’s sudden death and we began a very different and new normal life. 

Lately Judy and I have been talking a lot about “normal Life”. We look forward to getting back to normal life….when the virus is under control and no more masks,,, when we don’t have to sign up for mass or we can go out to eat without worry, when the kids can go back to school, when the Giants  and Cardinals are playing again and winning championships….hmmmmmm, we’ll have to wait and see. 

It’s funny, but it seems if you live a certain way for a number of months or even years, it becomes “normal life”….. the way things are… the way life is. What you later discover  is that something happens and life changes. You discover “the particular normal life” was just for a time…maybe a pretty long time …but it was not permanent. 

Hey Dave, get to the point…what’s the point here….? The point is that we need to appreciate the current time of life that we’re living…our current “normal life”….  because it will not last….it will change…maybe get better…maybe not. 

• Maybe you’ve been a student for several years with the particular pressures and freedoms… enjoy these times, because at some point they will end.
• Maybe you’ve been in the military for several years… that’s your “normal life”…but at some point that will end and be a memory.
• Maybe you’re married with young kids running around at home with the joys and trials that come with it….enjoy those times, because they will change …. they won’t last. 
• Maybe you have older teens or young adults in your family with all the “joys and anxieties” that come with it…. enjoy those times for they will also change …. they will not last.
• Maybe your kids are grown and you have grandchildren and it’s just you and your spouse…. enjoy those times for they are only here for a time….it’s “normal life” for a time, but it will also not last.
• Maybe you meet with a group of friends to share the Lord and get help in your life …. enjoy and appreciate these times, appreciate one another, appreciate that your health allows you to meet because at some point things will change.

This is real life. “Normal Times” last only for awhile. Let us appreciate the current moments in our life…we’re alive, we’re breathing, the Lord is with us, we have many joys and some sorrows.  

“This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24) Living in the present moment is critical for happiness. Let us remember to smile, the Lord is with us during these current normal times.