Ready or not, it’s the start of a new week. No one looks forward to Mondays. Sunday night rolls in and we all groan as the mental lists of the next seven days start scrolling through our head.
But Mondays are new starts. And there’s hope in new starts. Let’s take away the dread and replace it with intention. How can your tasks be turned into intentional opportunities to see God at work?
Maybe you’re working in a child’s classroom this week. Instead of simply filing papers into their mailboxes, pray a sentence prayer for each child as you put their work away. As you grocery shop, take a few moments to look around you, praying for the clerk and the person you pass over and over (there’s always one). Instead of averting your eyes, smile and make eye contact. Call a friend and see if you can meet her for coffee, even though you’ll sacrifice your lunch break. Being intentional means you value people over tasks.
As you rewrite your to do list for the week, here are a few thing I’m thinking about:
I was able to snag an early copy of the book but it’s available to all now! It has been such an encouragement to me. This is a book about what God has been doing in Annie’s life, taking her “broken crazy” and turning it into something beautiful. I marked several pages, but my favorite was this: “If you aren’t experiencing pain, you aren’t experiencing beauty. Darkness makes us appreciate the beauty of the light. If you aren’t allowing yourself to feel the hurt, sadness, loneliness and disappointment this fallen world has to offer, you probably aren’t feeling the fullness of the joy and beauty the redeemed moments have to offer.” You can snag your copy here. It’s joyful and fun and REAL. Plus, her name is Annie and I just have an affinity to anyone with such a great name.
Eliza (5 years old) wandered out of her room, well after we had put her to bed. It happens almost every night. Someday it will stop and we’ll probably be sad about that, but for now, we find it mildly annoying. Last night she said very solemnly, “I’m not comfortable anymore. I was lying in my bed, trying to sleep and I was comfortable. But then, all of a sudden, I was uncomfortable.” And then she waited expectantly for us to tell her how to cure it. Peter calmly replied, “Thank you for telling us. I think you should try to lie in a different way and see if that works.” She was satisfied and skipped back to bed. We didn’t hear from her again, so apparently he had great wisdom. I’m still laughing about it.
We don’t like the feeling of being uncomfortable, do we? But sometimes we miss what God wants to teach us because we are so worried about getting comfortable. What if we quit tossing around and instead listened long enough to what God is whispering to our hearts in the midst of the hard?
Jesus, there You are, handing us hope, but we foolishly forget we are the ones who must take it. We are afraid of disappointment, so we avoid hope and oh! we miss so many good gifts when we let fear rule us.
In our moment and seasons of discomfort, may we lean hard into Your truth. May we not miss what You long to show us in the uncomfortable.
Fill our hearts with the love that only You can give.
As we face this week, in all the big and little ways, may we see how You can take our tasks and turn them into opportunities. Remind us to value people over tasks. Redeem our moments.
Thank You for loving us… for DEARLY loving us. Amen.
Well, hello!
I’m so very glad you’re here. I hope you’ll stick around so we can get to know one another a little more. Go here if you’d like to receive my posts via email. I’d love to be able to pray for you and to send you a few verses that have meant so much to me. –Sarah
