Alarm chimes at 5 am.
"OK, take the dog out for the bathroom," I silently encourage myself as I make my way out of bed and down the steps. Half asleep, I open the door to the backyard. After Penny, the petite, fluffy, white Shih Tzu and Maltese mix breed, ventures into nature to relieve herself, I place her back in the cage and I head back upstairs to get another 45 minutes of sleep - or not.
Alarm chimes again at 6 am.
"OK, let's drag her out of bed, and let's hope it's a good morning." I, again, encourage myself as I press towards my sleeping 6 year old's room.
Reality sets in as I wake up the second time: yep, another Monday. I still can't figure out how I reached another Monday so quickly. Through the busyness of the weekend, I think, “What did I even accomplish? What did I even do? Did I even get the rest I was hoping for?” As I stand over my sleeping 6 year old, I have a five-second pity party, and then encourage myself, "Ok, let's do this."
Mondays have a terrible reputation. It's a day that demands us back to reality after two days of "freedom". It's a day to remind us of the responsibilities we carry and the heaviness to make it happen again. It's a day filled with anticipation of what the week can bring, but also a day that can bring anxiety of what the week can bring.
The pile of laundry that we just emptied, seems to make its way back to full.
The freshly vacuumed floors have tiny papers or miniature figurines scattered once again.
The sink that was empty last night has found 3 cups and a fork to pick up by morning.
The kid's room we walked them through cleaning Saturday, has cluttered itself again.
The meal planning we were dreading to figure out has to be prepared again this week.
The "chauffeur service" has to run again this week to games, practices and parent meetings.
The new sets of sibling arguments or friend rivalries will make their way to our counseling bed.
The chipped nail polish and the frazzled hair is demanding our attention once again.
Have you been there? As a mom, we are looked upon to do all this, and more, with a good attitude and a smile. But in reality, some Monday's our attitude can be totally opposite of a smile. We may ponder, “One more day, Lord. One more day is all I need to reset myself. One more day of stillness. One more day to feel ok and normal again.”
But we can't escape Mondays, so what do we do?
Tip #1: Give IT to God.
We must first recognize the power in handing our entire week to the Lord. We’ve all heard the phrase Give it to God, but have we really lived it? Have we even tried it? I testify that I have. I can share He has proven Himself the best weekly planner I’ve had! He is the only One who goes ahead of us to set our week smooth, even beyond our plans. Jesus promised that when we come to Him, with our heaviness and burdened spirit, He will exchange His easy yoke for our hard trouble (Matt. 11:28). He is the One who handles any trouble, anxiety or situation He's allowed us to encounter. Giving our week to the Lord will help us to conquer the unknown that we dread.
Utilize the Holy Spirit to prioritize and organize our week. James 1:5 shares “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” We have an awesome Helper who is ready to provide wisdom for the week ahead. In the past, He has helped me use an old-fashioned planner to write out my day to day, made room and space for my "top of the list" priorities or just allowed some plans to cancel on their own might.
Tip #2: Fill Up Before You Pour Out.
We also must make sure we have poured into ourselves before pouring out. We can definitely take a lesson from Jesus, who went away to pray (Mark 1:35) because of the magnitude of His responsibility and calling. As mommas, especially single mothers, we must take the time to recharge. A battery must be properly charged in order for a cell phone to function properly. As with us. Intentionally pause to read (or listen) to the Word of God, quietly taking that extra five minutes for that Monday morning cup of coffee or tea or soak in a bath the night before. Make a plan to fill your cup daily.
We should also be very choosy of the battles we fight. The messy rooms and the dirty dishes are small compared to the overall picture - thus the overall peace - we can have. Some days you will have to choose the homework over the laundry. The family time may have to come before making the beds some days. Secret? We must change the way we look at every individual task. It can feel like defeat allowing the dishes to sit there another night, but it's actually taking the expectations off, most times we place on ourselves. When we do this we allow grace to move through the week the best we can.
There will always be the Monday blues to conquer and another full week to tackle. There will be bad wake up mornings or hectic "overslept" mornings. There will even be “I forgot the homework or project” mornings. But God graces us for our portion, and He wants to see how well we steward the daunting feelings, or the kids grumpy attitudes, by relying on His hand, and not our own. We must realize God is even with us in these moments. And when we hand it over to Him, the expert of our own life, He will carefully piece together all that will be needed for us, all that we need to do and accomplish, lacking nothing.
When next Monday comes, I hope you lean a bit more on the ever present Help.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Amber Rhodes is the mother, a ministry leader and blogger. Sincerely Amber is built to encourage the single mom’s soul, all from a sincere and transparent place.
Amber Rhodes is a published author, has been a featured guest on The Black Mom Podcast and highlighted in a featured article in the Canvas Rebel Magazine. Amber was also a guest speaker at the “Positioned for Release” Women’s Conference.
Amber loves to live life, enjoy moments and treasure experiences. To follow her journey, visit Amber’s link tree: linktr.ee/SincerelyAmber
The Life of a Single Mom is a national, faith-based, nonprofit that exists to see that no single mom walks alone. To date, the organization has worked with hundreds of churches to start a single mom’s support group in cities throughout the U.S. and beyond, as well as having served hundreds of thousands of single mothers with a variety of programs. Offering a large array of books, curriculum, training materials, online instructional videos, podcasts, newsletters, life skills education, and more, TLSM is one of the largest single mom organizations in the U.S. The robust selection of single mom programs focus on empowering single moms to grow spiritually, emotionally, financially, and parentally through Single Mom University, Single Moms Across America, the National TLSM Single Moms Conference, boot camps, and a variety of other programs. For more information, visit thelifeofasinglemom.com.
