The New Normal, by Dweller Alayna

Discover Participants with DOOR Staff, Edzel, serve together.

Life has become pretty “normal” here. When people ask me how things are going, all I can think to say is “good.” I have nothing new or profound to say. I am no longer overwhelmed by the big city, and I’ve grown accustomed to work that was once beyond what I ever imagined doing. It’s just…regular. Normal.

But when I stop to ponder what “normal” is to me now, I smile.

Normal is tending to our beautiful, blooming community garden–pulling weeds in the cool of the evening, greeting the neighbors who walk by.

Normal is telling my housemate I’m going to water the garden and having a little girl’s face immediately pop out of the a second-story window next door – “You’re watering now? Can I help?!”

Normal is driving through the streets of Glendale, searching for our homeless friends in back alleys and parks.

Normal is getting texts like these from our high schoolers: ”Hey, are you guys open now?” “What’s up” ”When are you getting back?” Most of the time they just show up and yell for us to let them in.

Outreach making a first contact with a homeless person

Normal is giving the woman next door a ride to the store so she doesn’t have to haul groceries on the bus. She, in turn, takes care of us by sending over tamales or using the tomatoes from our garden to make us salsa.

Normal is staying late at the shelter to read a book with the sweetest little homeless boy.

Normal is biking or walking a mile towards the Hollywood sign every morning to catch my bus.

Normal is a Saturday night spent playing an impromptu game of 3-on-3 with our high school boys then sitting on the porch hanging out till their parents call them home.

Normal is running into one of our teenage girls as I walk home from work, listening as she tells me about her latest boyfriend troubles, feeling honored when she asks for my advice.

Normal is hosting the most diverse dinners and cookouts and parties I could imagine; businessmen and women, homeless people, Hollywood hopefuls, neighborhood kids with their Spanish-speaking parents–all coming together in our backyard. I imagine God smiling as He looks down on those gatherings.

Sure, life is normal. But normal is pretty awesome.

-Alayna, a current Dweller, living in intentional Christian Community with 5 others, plus an entire neighborhood.