normal mountains out a plane window

By JeanneTakenaka

First, please accept my apologies for not being present here last week. I was kind of unavailable. Spring break was filled with adventure and lots and lots of walking. I’ll be sharing more here today and in the next few posts . . . 

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There’s something comforting about “normal.”

After an eight-turned-nine-day adventure with my son’s school tour of Athens and Rome I’m home. 

Tired. 

And embracing the peace in normal.

After nine wonderful, long, BUSY days of travel and touring, we are back home, where it is snowing. 

At the end of March.

normal hotel entry

Suitcases need to be unpacked. Laundry piles sit on my floor waiting to be washed. Meds and other things sit on the bed, ready to be put away. And weariness needs to drain from my body as I settle into our family’s “normal.”

normal acropolis

But I’m home. With hundreds of pictures (yes, really), special memories, and many impressions I’m still sorting through. 

I’m with all of my people, the ones who are nestled closest to my heart. 

Those who fill me the most. 

And peace settles into every pore of my being.

normal aegean sea

After eight days of trekking over miles of streets and pathways, learning about amazing ancient cultures and visiting places many only dream of seeing . . . 

of viewing, with my own eyes, buildings and artwork I’ve only heard about and seen in books . . .

. . . after an extra day from a delayed flight that left us in Munich, Germany . . . 

I’m home. 

Trying to find normal again.

And I’m ready for it.

normal st peters basilica

There’s something amazing about going on an adventure like Edmund and I began on March 20th. 

But there’s also something soul-filling about coming home again. 

God allows times of busy-ness, of walking through the unexpected with Him.

He opens the doors to adventures where we can experience soul-growth and take in new places and experiences . . . 

normal athens door

But we can’t continually dwell in those seasons.

They are, ultimately, wonderfully unsettling.

I love experiencing new things, but I also love knowing there’s a place to come home to that is predictable. It’s not always exciting, fun, or stirring, but our normal wraps me in a warm blanket of acceptance and comfort.

normal athens stadium

Home—normal—is the place where I find rest. It’s where the rejuvenation of adventure weaves  into the fabric of who I am.

Maybe I’m especially thankful for normal—for the peace that being home and finding my routine once again—because of the unexpected extra day of travel.

We left Rome already tired from a short night of sleep. Our flight was delayed by over two hours, and then we discovered our first leg of the journey would also be our last for the day. 

The day after stepping onto United States soil, I sit in my project room. The quiet of the morning swaddles me as I watch large snowflakes billow down the street. I sense the peace of God’s presence, of His pleasure. 

I’m wrapped in the beauty of His embrace.

normal toes in the sea

I’ll toss that laundry into the washer, heft suitcases back into the attic. I intend to share my pictures (not all 1500 of them) with my husband, and with Peter. I anticipate burrowing into the patterns of routine that our family thrives on. 

And I look forward to sharing other thoughts and impressions about our unforgettable trip in this space in the coming weeks. 

What about you? What about your normal gives peace to your soul? What adventures have you experienced recently that have rejuvenated you?

Click to Tweet: I love experiencing new things, but I also love knowing there’s a place to come home to that is predictable.

I’m linking up with Tea and Word Tuesday and #TellHisStory

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