Glimpsing Normal

The surgery center called today. Our three-year-old's surgery (which was scheduled for this past Wednesday but cancelled due to the tornado) has now been rescheduled for Wednesday, June 1.

I didn't expect it to be that soon. I'm not sure I'm ready for it to be that soon...not because I'm not ready for him to have it, but because I'm not sure I'm ready to be that unavailable to the people I serve, so many of whom were directly impacted by the tornado.

At the same time, when they told me that the doctor could do it on Wednesday, I felt like we had to take that spot. After all, there are inevitably people who would like surgery rescheduled but can't because they are just trying to find a place to live or replace a car or desperately still searching for loved ones. I feel like since we can do it then, we really need to.

So, on Wednesday he will have tubes in and aednoids out.

And in that act, we will get a glimpse of normal again.

Little by little it will happen. While honoring the horrific loss. While mourning and hurting with others who mourn and hurt. Little by little we will do those normal, routine things of life.

We will again discover something we used to call bedtime.

We will again begin an exercise routine.

We will again have set days of the month to pay bills.

We will again do laundry before running out of underwear.

We will again visit people simply to check in, not to discover if they are alive and their homes are standing.

We will again (some months from now) worship in our church building.

We will again drive down the street without pointing out each fallen tree or downed house.

These things will happen...even if today we only glimpse them.