Things are opening up in Ontario, but that doesn’t mean we are getting back to normal.

Normal would be making sense of things. Normal would be going back to the way things were just a few months ago. 

With the province opening up, we are entering a wide spectrum of twists to things we would normally be doing. 

I realize that there are things that have changed for good. We won’t do some things the same any more. There are other things we will continue to do because we have experienced them and found them to be a good thing. 

An example would be at my church. We didn’t do online services or group meetings before, but we will most likely continue to do them, even after the province has completely opened up. 

But there are things that we can go back to doing now that are not exactly like they were before.

An example is what we do at the beach. Two weeks ago we couldn’t even go on the beach by our cottage. Someone was fined $800 for flying a kite on the beach!  

Now we can walk on the beach again and also go in the water, but – and this is a big “BUT” – you can’t stop on the beach. 

That’s right, you can walk along the beach and go in the water, but you can’t stand on the beach and watch a sunset. You can’t spread your towel out on the beach and lie on it, nor can your children play in the sand on the beach. That would technically be stopping on the beach.

So if a family goes down to the lake and their kids are in the water, Mom and Dad also have to be in the water. They can’t be watching from the beach … because that would mean they are stopped. 

I’m pretty sure that in no one’s books would that be considered normal. 

Let’s remember that we are Canadians. We have a pretty large personal space circle around us. When people lie on the beach, they don’t put their towels closer than six feet to the group beside them … ever! That would be weird, and so un-Canadian!

I liked a facebook post I saw. It was a picture of an empty prairie road and the caption read, “Saskatchewan: social distancing since 1920”.

We are getting back to doing activities that we normally do when the weather is nice, but we are now doing them in a weird way. 

I wonder if walking in circles, small circles, around a towel on the beach, like you would if you were playing musical chairs … or towels, would count as moving. 

… The provinces may be opening up again but there is a weirdness to what we can do. It’s not really like getting back to normal. 

Here’s the thing: As things open up and we can slowly return to our old ways of worshipping God, there have been some new ways of worship that we have been introduced to. “Normal” going forward may include some new expressions and avenues of worship and study, so learn to embrace the new, the weird, and keep moving forward. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What new experience from COVID have you tried that you want to continue? Leave your comments and questions below.

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