New norms! Whoop whoop!

1. Having at least one spider, cricket, bug, etc. in my tent. This new norm was one of the harder ones to adjust to. If you know me, by any means, you know I don’t like bugs! So, when I go to sleep at the end of the day, I don’t want my sleeping buddy to be a creepy crawly. Nevertheless, they join me in my tent, and I have to gently pick up whatever thing that decided to join me for the night and throw it out far away from my tent. 
2. Clean porta-potties are literal blessings from the Lord. A little over a month ago, who would have thought that I would be praising the Lord for a clean porta-potty. I never thought that my normal bathroom would be a smelly and hot porta-potty. 
3. Eh, it has mold on it? Just put some vinegar on it and leave it in the sun. If you don’t have mold on at least some of your clothes, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent, bag, or anything of yours by this point, you are doing fantastic. Mold has been a constant problem amongst our squad. From rainstorms and thunderstorms that last for days, and the only form of drying things is hanging them outside, mold is inevitable.  
4. Wearing the same outfit over and over again for days on end is completely normal. The rule of thumb here is if it doesn’t smell bad, and if it looks clean, you will most likely be wearing it. We have a laundry day every Tuesday. That is when we hand wash all our laundry and hang it up to dry. You get really good at rationing clothes throughout the week, so you can make it to laundry day without smelling so bad that people want to step away from you. 
5. BONUS: Yep! You get to hear about another normal, but this one is my favorite normal. Talking to God every single day and finding something new out about his character that makes me fall more in love with Him. 

This is my life. Honestly, I would not wish for anything different. You see, this is the price of following God’s calling. Stepping outside your comfort zone. Now I am not saying this is what it looks like for everyone who follows God’s plan, but this is what it looks like for me. Getting outside of myself, my comfort zone, and what is normal to me, growing in what the Lord has for me. He has taught me so much in just this short amount of time. The reason why I am learning so much is that I am fully dependent on Him. I need Him to help me, comfort me, and make me feel secure. I am out of my element. Out of what is known to me, but He helps me through that every day. God wants us to want/need Him. And when we are in our normal lives, and habits we usually think we do not need Him. So, we stop relying on Him and start relying on ourselves to get through life. Yet still, we wonder why we do not see God moving. It is not due to the lack of Him moving, it is due to us stepping away from Him. God constantly chases us even if we see it or not. He wants us to rely on him because that is when we will finally be FULLY satisfied. So, I am so grateful to have these new norms. Joyful that the Lord is messing up my life. What looks like messing up to me is actually Him perfecting my life. Has the Lord asked you to step outside your comfort zone? What does that look like to you? When was the last time you asked Him, Lord, grow me, and perfect me in You? Until next time Esther Collins.