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Normal is an interesting word. The American Heritage Dictionary defines normal as “conforming, adhering to, or constituting a usual or typical standard, pattern, level, or type.”
It took until my junior year in college for me to realize my eyesight was not normal. I was oblivious to the gradual deterioration that had taken place over the years, so I thought the way I saw the blackboard was the way everyone else saw it. While everyone else was seeing sharp lines and distinct shapes I was seeing fuzzy lines and blurry shapes.

Men don’t mind getting their hands dirty. Even if we don’t know what we’re doing, we’ll put our hands under the hood, under the faucet, and under the dirt. It’s how we learn. I’ve rarely learned more from a lecture than I have from actually getting my hands on a project. It doesn’t matter if his interest is mechanical, artistic, historical or otherwise, a man has evidence of his work on his hands.

I’m fascinated by things we find in the earth. A highlight of my trip to Israel was an opportunity to be a small part of an archaeological dig in The Shephelah.

If I was once enthusiastic about the smells associated with grass freshly cut by my efforts, I’m over it. My family formerly lived in a rental property with extensive land. My “half” took about 3 hours to mow on my landlord’s John Deere. The bouncing, spine-jerking mission was always at the bottom of my list, yet duty compelled me to get on the horse.

My girls were excited about the tractor. I took them with me on rides periodically, and the times were filled with mysteriously uncontrollable giggling while I contemplated an extensive fire to the land.

God loves us, but most of us have no clue as to what that means.

When we think about love, we all tend to be on the same level – teens and adults alike. Love is defined by specific times, feelings, and actions. When a cute girl pays attention, the boy falls “in love.” The man who plans a weekend away with his wife is said to be showing love. Dating couples who break up explain that they just don’t love the other anymore. Married couples do the same. In all cases, “love” is restricted to times, feelings or actions.

The same is true in our life with God.