The New "Abnormal"

So much of being a mother is living in the moment. We utter phrases like "this too shall pass" and "one day at a time" so often that it feels almost like platitudes instead of comfort. Cover the ugly and move on.
I truly believe that so much is missed by skipping over the hard parts. The 2a.m. frustrations of an infant not wanting to sleep. The mid-afternoon wiggles of a 4 year old who refuses to calm down.
There's been a lot of sickness and lack of sleep in our family the last few weeks and I've felt like life has been put on hold. A lack of "normal". It can be so disheartening, yet I feel like God is teaching me that it's in this "lack of normal" that life is found.
I think most of us feel that "normal" equals "perfect". Have you ever met someone with a "perfect" life? Neither have I.
Yet we have the possibility of perfection thrown in our faces everyday - magazines, books, masks on friends. Wouldn't it be nice to have a house as clean and organized as Jane's? Susie's house always smells like fresh baked cookies. The article in that parenting magazine says I can be all things, do all things and still have time to soak in a tub with a good book telling me how I can be all things and do all things as quickly as possible.
Ugh.
I'm learning instead that life resides in the "lack of normal".
Our homes are less than stellar.
Our children will challenge authority.
Our marriages will always need attention.
Our relationship with God is ever-changing.
And that's okay.
Because God promises to meet us where we're at. Have you noticed how quiet it is at 2a.m.? Have you realized how easy it is to wrangle a wiggly child with a hug and promise of a story?
I'm learning to talk to Him during the everyday "abnormalites" and take joy in the moment. Even if it means losing sleep in the middle of the night and stepping over the laundry.