restoration for Monday

Do you ever have a Sunday night with darkness and clouds rolling in? The end of a long day, of a longer week? Does it ever feel like you have poured yourself out and having nothing left to give? That you need to be refilled, restored, renewed?

Last night I had one of those nights. On Sundays I try to rest, to take a Sabbath, and it was a relaxing one. My exhaustion came with the physical pain I felt once again in my stomach. The nagging, incessant pain that seems to always return. Like that neighbor whose dog barks constantly, daily. Then one day, maybe two or even three days if you are lucky, it doesn’t bark. And you are like, “Oh, glorious relief!” But then the next day the barking returns. Annoying, right?

Well, last night I felt my hope of healing slipping away, my joy waning, my energy fading. But the beautiful thing about the night? The morning is coming.

“Weeping my tarry for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

And joy did come. Restoration, renewal, and reminders of God’s goodness, grace, mercy, and love.

As I woke up and took a walk down to look at the ocean, God showed up and met me, providing me with little reminders of His presence:

Three songs in a row on my shuffle about shining.  

His sun rising and shining on a new day. 

Warm summer morning air, fresh and clean. 

The smiling face of a passing stranger, contagious, bringing a smile upon my own. 

The smell of salty ocean air, beautiful clouds, and rolling waves. 

Stopping to smell a rose with the sweetest fragrance. 

A shirt on a woman that said, “Finish the fight.” 

A voicemail from my sweet boyfriend praying aloud for me. 

A new day, a new week, a new start.

Mondays. They often have a more negative connotation, a feeling of dread, of “back to the grind.” But today, this Monday, I am feeling restored. And for that I am grateful.

“You’re a good, good Father; it’s who you are, it’s who you are, it’s who you are.” 

“We’re gonna shine like lightning even when our back’s against the wall."

“Today, today, live like you wanna. Let yesterday burn and throw it in the fire.”