Around this time of year, I hear the same thing from most families at Village:

“Pray for us, Pastor—school’s back, and it’s about to get crazy.”

As we take our final summer vacations and squeeze as much rest into our trips as possible, many feelings come up as we get back into the swing of things. Kids can be anxious about starting a new school, picking up their sport again, or figuring out where they fit in with kids they haven’t seen all summer.

For parents, there are the school supply lists, sports physicals, the stack of forms that are all due the same week. Before it even starts, parents can feel the dread that washes over them as they realize their chauffeur license has been renewed for another year.

But not all people feel these feelings through addition. For some, this season percolates feelings of grief, sadness, and despair through subtraction. Transitions often occur around this time: retirements, moves, and much more. The days get shorter, we see the sun less, and that can match feelings of loss we had to face over the summer.

In other words, this time of year can leave many facing a new normal. New normals can mean busy schedules full of life-giving events, or it can mean facing a season without someone you’ve had all your life.

But whatever the normal may be, one thing is certain—change is inevitable. Seasons shift, circumstances evolve, and the life we knew yesterday isn't always the life we're living today.

That’s why, for the month of September, I’ve written a sermon series called A New Normal. Over 4 Sundays, we’re going to explore what Scripture has to say about living through life’s changes, whether we chose them or not.

In September, we’ll sit with voices who had to let go of everything they knew as they wrestled with a present that looks nothing like the past. We’ll read stories of great excitement, great sorrow, and great change.

We’ll hear from people who longed for the way things used to be, and had to learn that looking backward can keep you from seeing what’s right in front of you. We’ll find others learning what it means to live differently in the new normal and somehow still call it good. And ultimately, we’ll end with the promise that whatever our new normal looks like, something greater is still coming.

Wherever you find yourself this September, I hope you’ll join us to hear the good news: whatever normal you’re walking into, you don’t have to walk into it alone.

In the ever-faithful love of Christ our Lord,

Pastor Caleb