“If each day is a gift, I’d like to know where I can return Mondays.” ~ John Wagner
Maybe you’re one of those people that appreciates the fresh start of a Monday morning. If so, I applaud you. Oh, how I wish I had your enthusiasm.
I, however, would be first in line at the return desk. Yep, Mondays and I have a real problem. I did some simple math and figured I’ve lived through over 2,000 thus far in my lifetime. So, you’d think I’d be used to them by now. But no. Each time another one rolls around; I wake up sad the weekend is over and never quite ready to start a new week.
Any given week can have its own set of reasons for the Monday blahs, but I think one of the consistent reasons for my sluggish start is the thought of a whole new week of incompletes. New asks overshadow yesterday’s accomplishments. Chores it seems I just completed beg for my attention again. And so it goes.
As I repeatedly wrestle with this day, I keep thinking “what do I need to shift in my mindset to make Monday not so miserable?” After all, Monday is still “the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). So, what am I missing?
In my questions, God led me to the beginning of it all. Genesis 1. The world’s first seven-day cycle.
On the first day of God’s “workweek,” he spoke light into the darkness and separated the two from each other in the form of Day and Night. And you know what he thought about the light? “God saw that the light was good” (Genesis 1:4a, emphasis added).
He still had so much more in mind to add, so much more to do in the coming days. But the remaining work did not nullify the goodness present in day one.
I’m reminded of a podcast I heard in early 2021. Sadie Robertson was talking with singer Tauren Wells and Tauren said this:
“When you look at the Creation of the world, we serve a God who could breathe it into existence, who could think it into existence, who could do it all in one day but…on day 1…and day 2…
Can you celebrate that it’s good before it’s done? Because God called every day good even though it wasn’t the fulfillment of the full vision that was in his heart. He was able to end that day and look around and be like man, I know I still got fish to put in this water. And I still know I got people to put on this land. But if I’m just looking at the clouds and the oceans, this is good.”1
Can I celebrate that it’s good before it’s done? This question just might be the answer to what I’ve been missing.
Now, I don’t know that I’ll ever wake up celebrating Monday like it’s Friday but believing that completeness is not a requirement for good could very well take the sting out of Monday.
What if I started looking for the good in the beginning, not just the end? What if I stopped allowing new tasks and chores to steamroll me on Monday morning and began viewing them as opportunities to create again? What if I prohibited incompleteness from taunting me and just embraced where I am in the process?
I’m certainly willing to try. But it’s going to take more than me trying for this to take root. It’s also going to take prayer because I can’t make this shift in thinking without God’s help.
So, I’ve decided to build a habit of prayer on Sunday nights where I ask God to make those what ifs my reality and to hand him the things I’m fearful of and hopeful for in the week ahead, trusting his peace can overcome the angst triggered by my alarm on Monday morning.
Friend, if Monday’s make you groan, I encourage you to join me.
With God’s help, we can stop wishing for a gift receipt every Monday.
1Robertson, Sadie, host. “Answering Your DMs w/ Tauren Wells: Superficial Love, Trust, and Being Known.” WHOA That’s Good, Spotify app, season 5, episode 3, 27 Jan. 2021.