By the time you read this, I’ll be sitting in my little cubicle in the office. For the first time in more than two years, I have to report downtown. I am not happy about it, but I’m not independently wealthy either, so I’m going back to work.

I expect things in the building to be pretty much the same as I left them, but it will all feel a bit different. The amenities and services I had loved so much will be diminished, if they are available at all. Protocols and policies have been modified to fit our current circumstances. I’ll need to adjust my behavior accordingly.

As I get back to life, I will be surrounded by coworkers and friends who are adjusting to this new reality. My family, too, will have to make the necessary adjustments to their lives and schedules to accommodate for this new reality.

As I attempt to transition back to the life I had before, I think of Lazarus, whom Jesus brought back to life. I think about how Lazarus’s return to normal was not normal at all. I would bet that his relationship with Jesus was forever changed. I think also, his relationship with his sisters, and everyone else around him changed. I imagine Lazarus had a new found appreciation for all the things he had once taken for granted.

As I slowly transition out of pandemic quarantine, and back into my real life, I want to have a testimony like Lazarus.

Lord, help me to have a better relationship with you, and the people you have placed around me. Let me not take for granted any of the good things you’ve placed in my path for my benefit. Let me see all of your blessings in a whole new light, and let the pure fact of my presence in any space be a testament to your grace and mercy towards me.

Thank you and Amen.