"A New Normal"

10 Weeks Today!

 

Pregnancy Signs:  Exhaustion.  Afternoon naps that only leave me wanting more.  Gag reflexes when I brush my teeth.  Oh, and this lovely thing called heartburn, ouch!

Since we found out our exciting news about Baby Salter I have secretly been longing for the end of the 1st trimester.  Week 14...the time of restored energy, adios to nausea, hello to the "safe zone", and so many other things.  I then received an e-mail from a dear friend who is months ahead of me in the mommy world and here is what she said:

My tiredness subsided some, but it didn't completely go away...just a new normal.

Just a new normal?!  What kind of encouragement is that to one who is struggling to keep her head off the pillow at 8 p.m. every night?  It was then, while reading that short little message, my heart was put in check.  What if my symptoms do not change?  What if this is my new normal?

As the seasons of life change, we all receive new normals.  We have 2 options, choose to be content in them or choose to be miserable and wish them away.  Choose.

As much as I may want to wish away my physical woes at this point, that is not an option. In my husbands terms, I am "putting my big girl pants on and dealing with it."  This is not to say I pretend my current situation is not difficult, instead I choose to embrace it and be thankful rather than dread it and be miserable.  Thankfulness.

The mornings when I wake up and my stomach is not happy with me, I thank God that Baby Salter is doing well as I nibble on a saltine cracker.  

When I am not able to travel out to far places in Haiti and serve with our mission teams, I thank God for this time He is preparing me to be mommy to our little one, and how many precious one-on-one moments we will have in the years to come.  

When my emotions become so out of whack all I want to do is cry and dream of strawberry milkshakes from Chick-fil-a, I thank God for giving me a husband whose shoulder I can cry on and the comfort in knowing this too will pass.

As I am in the midst of our "new normal" I am reminded of friends and family members who are entering new normals as well.  My sister who leaves for college at the end of the summer, parents who will have an empty nest, friends who are preparing to change cities as they follow the call of the Lord on their lives to spread the Gospel, and the list continues.

It is then my heart delights to know this stage of a "new normal" is not just a time for Trey & I, but a time for us to lift up in prayer those who are in the same situation, even though our circumstances may differ.  So, if the new normal is where you find yourself today, Choose Thankfulness.  After all, when our hearts and minds are filled with thankfulness it does not leave room for anything else.

Philippians 4:4-7, Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say Rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be made known to everyone.  The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.