Monday.

Some of you may have squirmed at the sight of that. Some may have sighed. Others may have rolled their eyes.

Monday is typically denoted as the start of a new week. We typically think of it as the busiest day, the most stressful day, and the longest day of the week.

For me, Mondays can be filled with complex cases, angry patients, and a long night of closing charts and sending prescriptions.

Sometimes, a Monday may be filled with happy patients who want to discuss their fun weekend.

And if you’re like me, you may have a mental countdown until the end of your shift and wishing Friday would arrive faster.

At some point recently, I started reflecting on my frustrated Monday mornings and decided that I needed to change. I don’t have them too often but I felt like I was having them more often than usual.

Then, I started re-reading the Bible from the beginning. I opened it up to Genesis, Chapter 1 and reflected on this scripture:

I considered the creation of the first day and sat in awe.

Let’s pass the physical power it took to create day 1 and look at the deeper meaning.

God created light and then separated light and darkness. And I thought to myself, “Wow. He not only created light but he separated light and darkness. Thus, the creation of a day. I wonder how I could separate a patient’s light from dark. I wonder, if on a Monday, I could pull a patient from the depths of their diagnosis and show them the light of God. I wonder, God, if I could somehow be a reflection of your creation by reminding myself of the goodness you created on Day 1.”

And with that new mindset, of separating light and dark for patients, came a new attitude. A new level of energy. A whole new Monday. A new day 1.

2020 has felt like a year of Mondays.

2020 has been full of disappointment, hardships, frustration, and stress.

But I was reminded in the book of Genesis that God separated light and dark for a reason. Not just to give us days. But to give us a new day, everyday, where we can wake up and choose how we live, think, and act.

God gave us the opportunity to be a new person as each day passes. He gives us an opportunity to separate the light and dark inside of us.

I am often made fun of at work (with all the love in the world) for my optimism because I insist on good days, good afternoons, and a good next day.

But my optimism really stems from Genesis. It stems from our creator. It stems from the promise of God that He is in control and what He creates is good and good for us.

My challenge for you is to reflect on your most recent Mondays and decide on how you’d like them to be different, keeping Genesis in mind. If you could create a new day 1, a new Monday, what would it look like? How would you feel? How would you interact with those around you?

Let’s all reflect on our most recent Monday in prayer together:

“God, thank you for Day 1. Yes, thank you for each and every Monday. Remind us God that your creation of Day 1 was good and perfect. Remind us that, through you, we can be a new person as each new day passes and that we can turn to you for strength in order to do so. Let every day be day 1 for us and for those around us. Amen.”