This Thanksgiving my family is facing several new frontiers. Some are exciting, others are terrifying.

• In September, I left a full time position with a church to build my consultancy.
• My wife is one semester away from finishing her degree.
• Our oldest daughter finds out next week where she is accepted to college.
• Our teen-age daughter has been diagnosed with a tumor in her hip. She is scheduled for a very invasive surgery in February.
• Our pre-teen sons are immersed in Minecraft and routinely go by the names Steve and Enderman. They also know how to use the Force to split public statues as pictured above.

All-in-all these experiences are my NORMAL right now, and I am thankful for my normal.

I like what Ali Polin said recently on her blog, “Your normal is someone else’s WOW!”

It’s true. You’re everyday routine of pushing forward and overcoming obstacles may seem less than stellar to you, but to someone else it’s amazing.

I remember meeting an older couple who had lost two of their children in separate tragedies. Many couples divorce in the wake of loosing a child, but somehow this couple not only stayed together but provided a loving and healthy home for two other children. Normal for them was not punishing their living children with the grief of their deceased children. WOW!

I have a friend who is only a year older than me, but he is fighting stage 4 cancer and may not live to see Christmas. Throughout his fight for life his faith has amazed me. He wrestles with fears and doubts, but he expresses such a trust in his family and his God. Normal for my friend is spent managing his pain and waiting for the inevitable. WOW!

What’s normal for you right now?

What difficulties are you facing that make you feel deficient or defective? What’s got you doing your best to just make it one more day?

Despite the challenges you are facing in this season, I know there are elements of your NORMAL that make others say, “WOW!”

Happy Thanksgiving!