Isn’t it fantastic that things are opening up again? There’s light at the end of the 14+ month pandemic-tunnel we have all been dealing with! Churches are welcoming back cogregations to pre-covid levels, masks are starting to come off, my wife and I went to an Atlanta United Game with 40,000 other fans and it was great! 

But I wanted to encourage everyone to not forget some of the spiritual and life lessons we have learned through all of this. We all experienced loss; maybe of a loved one or of a relationship, and in those moments we held on to the hand of Jesus probably tighter than ever before. Economic hardship and worrying about how remote learning and isolation would affect our kids kept us up at night, asking God, “Is this all going to be ok?”. 

With the uncertainty came vulnerability. Our self-reliance and our tendency to want to be ‘in control’ was exposed as fleeting and not as secure as we once thought. And I’m suggesting that that wasn’t a bad thing. That through it all we reached new levels of closeness and reliance on God. 

As we move back into a reality that we have all hoped and prayed for, be certain to keep the relationship with Jesus as strong and vital as it was in those dark days. Don’t forget the childlike trust that we all had to hold onto every minute of every day. 

I know we are all grateful that we are coming out of the pandemic- just remember to bring the blessings with you.