As a kid, I always dreaded Mondays. I think I started dreading them on Saturday morning knowing they were on the way. By Sunday afternoon, misery had set in. There were a host of reasons for it – and some of them were valid, but regardless these were the facts for me. Anxiety had a way of stealing the joy of the time I did have.
As an adult, it has gotten much better. I try to enjoy each day as it comes. But I must admit, that dreaded Monday morning anxiety still tends to creep in. I love what I do. I enjoy the people I work with. I have an amazing family. I have no real reason to have any worries. But Sunday, I felt it. That twinge of dread appeared like an unwelcome guest that has already spotted you are home. I am determined not to let it win.
So this morning, this beautiful Monday morning, I awake and arise. I do more than roll out of bed, I arise to the newness of a day made by God. On my morning journey, I notice the orange tones beginning to pop out of the horizon as God ushers in a new dawn. I hear the babbling of a brook (ok, so it was a ditch of running water, but you get the point). And there was much prayer involved. I needed God to show me the good in this day. I needed to know how to spread kindness. I wanted the chaos of this world to calm.
As I prayed and looked for God to speak, the stars sparkled. And for a moment, God seemed to say…this world is chaotic but you do not need to be. I was reminded of a scripture my kids learned in Bible drill. It is one I have said more times than I can count. This has become a place to return when the anxiety seems to be greater than I can handle. It is held in 2 Timothy 1, but God today opens it in my heart, “7 for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” Power, love, and self-discipline – those are the things which I am given. These are the things which you, too, are given.
May we live, not in fear or anxiousness, but in power, love and self-discipline. And, indeed, may it begin with me.
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY 