Reflections on the Pulse of a Weekday Morning

There is a distinct flavor to waking up on a Monday. I was raised to see Sunday as the Seventh Day, the day God rested… Monday signals a new week one that will end with a day of rest reflection and recovery lately… The sun rises as it always does, indifferent to the calendar,  its pale light seeps across the walls and into the quiet corners of our rooms. Yet, for the restless traveler of weeks, Monday’s dawn is never just another morning—it is a threshold, a crossing from the Seventh Day into the charged reality of routine.

The world, as always, is still there. The dawn sheds its light and the city stirs; the countryside awakens as well as people begin the structured tasks of a new week. The life stories of us all poise to begin anew, but lately the heaviness of the world has been added to the load we carry. Its weight lending me to breathe deep, to look inside of myself and hope for a moment that the promise of God, that He is aways there, that He’s already ahead of me, is as real as I have always believed. But beneath the surface—where Monday’s promise is compared with the lingering ghosts of Sunday— I can feel the chaos as it simmers, waiting to erupt.

Chaos on a Monday is not merely external. It is internal, woven into the tapestry of thoughts that accompany our morning coffee, the shuffle to the shower, the constant watch of the clock in order to be present on time. The world outside mimics this internal disorder: horns blare in traffic that has returned to its full congestion, inboxes pile up with requests and reminders, and the news cycles spin with fresh urgency. People walk forward, propelled by habit and necessity, each step both an act of resignation and of resilience.

Some press on with hurried strides, their faces set in lines of determination, eyes flicking from phone screens to crosswalks and back again. Others, like me, the dreamers perhaps—move more slowly, touched by the melancholy of transition. Chaos is not just noise; it is the echo of expectation, the unspoken challenge to create order from a week unformed, a challenge to find the peace within and strive greatly to hold it there…

But for all chaos and insanity that lies in wait for us in the week ahead, Monday is also full of hope, it is a beginning and a beginning is a new possibility… We hope the week ahead can be filled with good, we know that life is a journey that can take unexpected turns yet we still step on into it… There is an energy that comes from beginning, even if the beginning is familiar. People look forward, sometimes because they must, sometimes because there is something shimmering on the far edge of possibility—a meeting, a message, a chance encounter, the smallest whisper of change.

It is in this momentum, this collective stepping into the unknown of the week, that we find our rhythm. I start my Monday after coffee and devotional time with a walkabout the Acres, nature is what eases my mind and soothes my soul. Others exercise, jog, scurry to finish things left undone from the weekend, already behind, some watch the news, fall into their rhythm by doing familiar tasks. The forward motion is not uniform, but it is universal; even those who remain behind are caught in its backwash, dreaming of what might be, what could return.

There are those who, in their hearts, carry a yearning for the past. Nostalgia is Monday’s secret companion, a gentle hand at the back. The weekend’s memories linger—long breakfasts, slow conversations, the soft comfort of stillness. Yet the past is elusive, a mirage that shifts with each passing hour, fading as the demands of the present grow sharper.

However  you move into your Monday, it is your journey, your stepping forward into what lies ahead. Technology has quickened the speed at which we feel the eruption of chaos, but also the speed at which we can find hope as well. News comes at  us from all sides, but so does words of hope…You can choose the way you look, the way you receive the worlds messages. The most important part is finding the truth and the good. While technology can be overwhelming, it can be a way to reach out and inspire good as well.

Yet, for all its novelty, the essence remains the same. People rise, prepare, and move into the world with anticipation and anxiety, determination and doubt. The tools may have changed, but the rituals endure: the search for meaning amid disorder, the quest for comfort in routine, the longing for a week that will unfold gently, without surprise.

Perhaps the greatest gift Monday offers is the chance to see beauty in the midst of chaos. Between the noise and the rush, there are quiet moments: the smile exchanged with a stranger in the elevator, the sunlight glinting off a puddle, the first sentence of a book read in transit. These are the anchors, small and steady, that hold us to the present.

The world may erupt with challenges, but it also blooms with possibility. Every step forward is an act of courage, every glance backward a gesture of gratitude. The people walking, dreaming, hoping, are the heartbeat of Monday—each seeking something lost, each building something new.

I hope today, on this Monday you find your peace, you feel His strength and see the hope ahead even through the chaos….