Mondays used to be the worst. The end of the weekend, the end of “leisure,” the unavoidability of the daily grind and messy realities of life.
Maybe I’m able to see Mondays differently now because I’m not in school or working full-time or homeschooling my kids. Maybe. But even though my Mondays now look different than they have in other seasons of my life, Mondays still have a way of making like a mirror and reflecting the real that we’d rather escape, numb, or deny. The job we don’t like, the responsibilities we begrudge, the wounds that seem less acute when they’re covered up by the full swing of the week or by the distractions of the weekend.
Mondays have a way of saying, Hey! The fun is over. It’s time to reckon.
Or at least that’s the way Mondays have often been for me.
But what if we saw Mondays as a reset button for our souls? What if we approached this first day of the work week with the hope of renewal and new rhythms? What if we saw this first day as a day especially tethered to the truth of the Father’s new mercies awaiting us at the dawn of a new day?
What if Mondays started speaking differently to us?
What is we squashed the voice of the angry drill-sargeant Monday and invited a gracious, tender Monday through our doors instead? A Monday voice that’s an invitation instead of condemnation. A Monday voice that says, Hello you. Welcome to the week. Welcome to fresh starts and new perspective. Welcome to wide-open plains of do-overs. Your life and responsibilities and gifts are wonderfully unique. Isn’t originality refreshing? I know you may be tired, not as rested as you’d like to be as you face all of the newness. I know there are too many loose ends. I know you feel like you’re not enough to go around. Or just not enough. Here’s the sobering, beautiful truth of the matter. You’re not enough. But I am.
What if Monday took on the voice of Jesus and what if you began to believe Him?
What if you looked up into his face and said, Oh, I’m so glad you’re here. Thank you for showing up, for always showing up even when I forget you’re there with your grace and forgiveness and tenderness. Jesus, I know it’s a new start and all but honestly, I’m a little overwhelmed. I’m disillusioned. I doubt my abilities. Sometimes I even doubt you. I’m still struggling with stuff I feel like I shouldn’t be struggling with. Instead of embracing the new mercies of the day and the fresh possibilities of the week, I want to crawl under the covers and let the world fend for itself without me today.
You can say that, you know. You can unload on Him. Sometimes confession is conversational like that. And guess what? He’s already invited you into that conversation. These are his real and true words to us: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
He is not overwhelmed or disillusioned. He doesn’t doubt your abilities because He gave them to you. He walks behind you, beside you, and before you. Acknowledge his presence and find peace in his company. Confess all of the hard stuff and bring it into the light of his love and forgiveness.
On this Monday, hear a different voice. And instead of being overwhelmed by your real life, be overwhelmed by the real grace and companionship that awaits you today in the person of Jesus Christ.
Scripture:
Lamentations 3:22-24 and Matthew 11:28-30
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I so needed this message today. I literally wanted to pull the covers over my head this morning and not wake up until tomorrow. Monday has become one of those “dread” days for me, but thank you for encouraging me to see it as as an invitation to a new week. To be reminded that HE already knows all that I’m feeling and thinking should give me the confidence to pull back those covers and walk toward this day in confidence. Really, HE used you today to speak to me.
Pam, I am so glad. Thank you.
Thanks for the reminder. There really is nothing like His voice and presence to make every day (including Mondays) better.
LYF
I really needed this today. As an ER nurse, Mondays are always our busiest day. This will be my new Monday mantra–I am not enough, but He is! Thank you for yet another beautiful post that spoke directly to my heart. I’ve been a long time reader and love your new look!
I love this perspective. I’ve experienced this same kind of Monday change- but they’re still hard and usually begin with too much left undone. Come next week, I’ll remember this.