From the Pastor's Desk:

So, What's Your Story?

... "normal" was a word which seemed

well ... normal back in my old days. It was like the word, "common sense." Everything was "normal" or "common sense" based on my experience. When I became the father of Rebecca those two ideas changed completely.

Rebecca Arlene Mason came into the world, September 28, 1982 at two pounds and twelve ounces. Linda and I did what you do, we made the most of it. There in the tiny hospital of Butte, Montana we trusted Rebecca would make it as we listened to her heart monitor late into the night.

There would be an emergency air lift to the Salt Lake hospital, the loss of weight and several scares. A social worker would dutifully warn us that Rebecca could end up blind, hearing impaired or have multiple learning disorders. Pictures were shown to us of toddlers with the glasses and hearing aids. We wept because of the helpless feeling that our "normal" had morphed into an uncontrollable future.

The ventilator controlling Rebecca's life gave us a minute by minute witness that her days were truly in God's hands. It is still hard to write this without being transported to that Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where we watched a machine pump ninety percent oxygen into her lungs during a bout with pneumonia. The tears are here as I recall the fear of not knowing if she would live or die. Normal? This was our new "normal."

Recently Rebecca Mason and Steven Roger were wed February 24, 2007 at the Lakeside Hitching Post. I would receive the phone call

informing me about her marriage three days later. What a phone call. This reminded me that there is no "normal" for anyone.

The miracle is that she is here. My normal is found in the twists and turns of Rebecca's life and in that I find my new normal. I guess that is how we find ourselves living with God, that is, through those relationships which mean the most. What is your story of "normal"? I would love to hear about it. Just give me a call and let's have a cup some day.