Marvelous Monday

Bringing a spiritual perspective to daily life

It was a Monday morning. I was purchasing a soda pop. The young woman behind the store counter mentioned how she hated Mondays; they were depressing.

I smiled and said, "Don't give up your joy just because it's a Monday." After I left, I began to pray about this. I have learned that God loves us, His spiritual sons and daughters, constantly. His love does not begin and end, come and go, or fluctuate. It is uninterrupted. There can be no cycle of time, no particular day, when God is absent and we are left alone and without joy. Joy from God is found in unselfishness, kindness, and goodness. These are the thoughts I pondered when I prayed that morning. After that I didn't think much more about it.

Two days later when I saw this woman, she said, "I turned on some music Monday, and I did have a joyful day. One of my customers even remarked that he had never seen me that happy on a Monday. I was happy all day long, and I don't know why."

I said, "It's because you changed your thought and didn't give in to thinking that Mondays had to be unhappy." There was a sparkle in her eyes, and enthusiasm in her voice, as she said, "Yes, that's exactly what happened!"

Even though I had not mentioned God, there had been a tremendous feeling of love at that moment. The joy we both felt came from intuitively knowing that God loves all of us every minute of the day.

We have the right to challenge thoughts we have that are not from God. If a thought is not good, it is not from Him. When we feel we are subject to emotional ups and downs, or depression, we can be sure the thoughts behind this are not from God, and we can replace them with good thoughts.

Having good thoughts is not just positive thinking. Acknowledging that God is Love itself, ever present, we can expect to see and feel this truth in our day. This is prayer, and it does bring evidence into view of the fact that God loves us, just as it did that Monday morning.

Joy based on a spiritual understanding of God cannot waver. It's actually unselfishness in action, coming from living a life expressive of the qualities of God.

The Christian Science textbook, by Mary Baker Eddy, explains: "Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love. It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it" (Pg. 57). This is based on what Christ Jesus taught. The book of John in the Bible gives Jesus' "recipe" for joy: "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you" (15:9-12). Here again is the instruction to be unselfish and loving to others, as well as the promise that in doing so our own joy will be full.

Mondays certainly could not be excluded from this recipe for joy. I thought of the parable of the good Samaritan in the Bible (see Luke 10:25-37). What if the Samaritan had been so depressed (say because it was a Monday) that he didn't help the man who was lying "half dead" by the roadside?

Yet, the Samaritan was obviously a man who was listening to God. He was obedient. He was unselfish. He was loving. He took the wounded man to an inn and paid for the keeper to care for him. Think of how this blessed the wounded man. But also, think of the joy it must have brought the good Samaritan! Being obedient to God has to result in joy and gladness.

There are no time restraints or limits on God. Because His love is always with us, no day needs to be mundane or depressing. Whenever we are loving God and loving our fellow men and women, our days will be marvelous, filled with purpose. Even Mondays.

This is the day which

the Lord hath made;

we will rejoice

and be glad in it.

Psalms 118:24

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