In the past few weeks, as we have experienced our routines and rituals pulled to pieces and discarded, I am reminded by a quote by author Dave Hollis. He suggests that “In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to.”

As we enter each day, we are faced with the question “What will today hold and how can I respond to it?” Typically, our lives are filled with the consistent, scheduled, sometimes mundane and hopefully comfortable tasks that make us into who we are. As a result we don’t often have the chance to answer that earlier question differently than we have the day before.

It is only in those unique seasons where all we know is turned upside down, that we can truly take advantage of the different, allowing ourselves to risk, to embrace novelty and reach towards something new. During these beautifully difficult times, we are given a slim opportunity to re-evaluate everything.

This new season is fraught with hurdles, unknowns and many other giants towering over us. But it is a new season and even though new seasons come with death they also bring new life. With new seasons come fresh opportunities, second chances and new beginnings.

We find ourselves immersed in new routines, juggling new responsibilities, sharing tasks with our loved ones which were previously outsourced. We experience our families in new ways, watching over our kids as they learn, having family time in concentrated and prolonged doses.

This can be hard or uncomfortable for some, but can I encourage you to take this time, this opportunity and ask the question everyday, what can I learn from this new season and how can I let it change me for the benefit of me, my family and my community. Let’s not mourn the loss of normal until we have made sure that the normal we previously experienced is worthy of our presence and will allow us to fulfil our greatest callings.

Let’s embrace this time with our loved ones and as hard as it may be to shake off the desire to return to what was, understanding that this is hard and there are many unknowns, allow this pause to catch your breath, reconnect with those around you, weigh up if what was lost is really worth mourning or perhaps begin to dance upon the disappointment, look up, increase you faith and position yourself for what is yet to come.

Remember: “if you are creating something great, your time will come. And if your time hasn’t come yet, keep working to create something great.” Clay Scroggins.