One of my favorite movies of all time is Tombstone. It came out when I was only 2 years old so I’m not even sure when I saw it for the first time but at this point in my life, I’ve seen it probably dozens of times. It’s also one of the most quotable movies ever, with a bevy of one-liners delivered by iconic characters and actors.
The most memorable and quotable character is Val Kilmers portrayal of Doc Holliday. In one of the final scenes of the movie Wyatt Earp comes to visit Doc Holliday on his deathbed and they reflect on their lives to that point. Wyatt tells Doc that all he ever wanted was to lead a normal life to which Doc responds “There’s no normal life Wyatt. There’s just life. Get on with it.”
With positive covid trends and great vaccine progress phrases like “return to normal” and “new normal” are getting tossed around a lot. But I think Doc Holliday was on to something, there is no such thing as normal.
I’m reminded of another oft-quoted line, this time from the author of Ecclesiastes.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens”.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)
The very nature of time is that nothing is the same today as it was yesterday. The lived experience of today will determine the realities of tomorrow. And as Winter changes to Spring in the coming weeks there is no way to turn back. So in many ways the only thing“normal” is change.
The lesson I’ve taken from this season of interference is this: don’t make an idol out of normalcy. Like everyone, I am anxious for a return to the familiar, but I have to admit that there are areas in my life that have been neglected because I thought it would just be easier to deal with them when things got back to normal. I wonder if that isn’t true for many of us.
In Matthew 6:34 Jesus tells us to let tomorrow worry about itself, because today has enough trouble of its own. What a shame it would be if we failed to make the most of what God has given us today because we were preoccupied with what a “new normal” may or may not look like in the future. So in the words of Doc Holliday “get on with it”.
Written By: Jason Ivie