TGI Monday

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”

• Psalm 118:24

Mondays. Who needs them?

Back to work. Back to the grind. Back to school. “TGI Monday,” said nobody. Ever.

Admit it—sometimes it's hard to get psyched up for the week ahead. You've had a great weekend, and you're probably dragging a little bit come Monday morning. Even for those of us who love what they do for a living, Mondays still represent a change in rhythm and a shift in our spirit.

I get it. Really, I do.

But I also get this: Every day we have is a gift from God. Every. Day.

Every day is a new opportunity to appreciate the blessings God showers upon us—God's steadfast and unending love, God's glory in the world around us, God's providential care that takes every little detail into account. It makes me want to love God in return.

A long time ago my mother gave me a framed card with a saying on it. It said,

What we are is God's gift to us.
What we become is our gift to God.

That, I think, is a good cure for the Monday blues. What an awesome way to redirect your focus to your most magnificent purpose—to love God with your whole being. Don't look at Monday as just the first day of your work week; instead, look at Monday as yet ANOTHER day to live out your chief purpose—to glorify God, and to enjoy God forever.

Last Monday I was finishing up at the conference in Indiana for Presbyterian ministers. It was a gray, overcast morning as I was walking from my room to the dining hall. It was the day after the time change, so it was still dark-ish outside. I had been glancing over to my right, where I could vaguely see the moon still trying to peak through the morning clouds. Suddenly the minister who was walking with me stopped and said, “Whoa, look over there,” pointing to my left.

It was the light of the sun, just beginning to appear on the horizon, shining through the trees. The shades of blue and red and purple and orange were so brilliant; it looked like flames dancing in the midst of the trees, only there was no fire. 

Why am I trying to describe it? Take a look for yourself.

That is what happens when you let God inform your day. When you recognize God's majesty and love, and when you live to love God in return, then your day—even Monday—will be transformed from drab gray, to something unimaginably beautiful and meaningful.

So, it's Monday, a day that God has given to you. Make the most of it, and give yourself back to God today.

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!