Monday's in Margaritaville....

So the title of this definitely sounds interesting. So it's Monday in Myrtle Beach. For some of you that are already questioning my Southern Baptist ethic...no, I don't drink. I have just seen Margaritaville signs everywhere down here. So the title seemed to fit. My Monday has started off great! I woke up at 8:30, got up did my quiet time, and am sitting in my friend Robert's brand new stilt house. Life is good. This Monday seems to be so much more different than most Mondays. I guess it's because I am on vacation. I guess it could also be because I am done with school at North Greenville and this is my week of Celebration with some of my best friends on the planet. I guess it could also be that today is better because I woke up at 4:00 A.M. yesterday to drive back home to see my Mother on Mother's Day. That was pretty intense and it caused me to be exhausted yesterday afternoon. So what did I do...I drove back to the beach, last night. But, I did take a nap so it wasn't that bad. I got on the road about 8:00 p.m. last night after hanging out with someone (I will let your minds wonder, who is this "someone".....hmmm). She and I talked about how Monday's are the worst. Except this Monday is an exception because well, I am on vacation. Anyway, back to the subject

Most Mondays are, well lets face it...hard. You go to bed Sunday night knowing, "well, it's time to start all over again." There are usually 52 Mondays in a year. 52 new starts to a new week. Before I go any further read this:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

-Paul (Hebrews 12:1-2)

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

-Paul (2nd Letter to Timothy 4:7-8)

Why is it that on Monday's, it is so hard for us to want to keep the race going? When Monday rolls around, I feel as if the race just starts all over again. Because of these natural thoughts, I am so glad God is a definite God. He is not a God of "What if". He clearly states to Moses that He is "I AM" which is an absolute truth.

Our world has taught us to believe that every week is the same, Monday being the worst and Friday Night - Sunday is the best because of no work. This causes us to take our eyes off of an endurance race. Each week is the same, mundane. Paul never talked about how long or short the race was. But he did say run the race with perseverance. Keep pushing. Our world sets us up for failure when it has teaches us to think that Monday is the start of another mundane week, because it causes us to take our eyes off of the end of the race.

Have you ever thought about the fact that perseverance isn't boring. In fact, it makes life kinda interesting. I remember the first camp that I ever did with the band, I was 14. The band I was involved with was no little thing. We had about 140-150 members, and worked hard. Here is the scenario:
It was 94 degrees outside, and we had only been outside for 45 minutes. I was ready to say, "Forget this crap." The director was a tyrant, and if we got a break from working hard for a minimum of 3 hours, it included about 30 - 40 seconds of drinking semi-warm gatorade. Then one of my friends said, "Morton, I can already see it on your face man." I new exactly what he was talking about. I was ready to quit. Now granted I wasn't a quitter, so I WAS NOT going to quit. But I wanted to. So that same friend said, "Let's see how long we can go without passing out." Of course being the tank of a 14 year old that I was, I lasted. But I had a goal,a prize, something to go after. Perseverance made it interesting. I wanted to see if I could outlast the other guy. If someone else was going to lose it before I did. It was a rough day, kids were puking, others passed out, but no one sat down. If you passed out, you got some water and sucked it up. Perseverance that day was very interesting.

So here is my final thought:

Because something may seem mundane, may be boring, may hurt, may be hard...never give up. It's not what we are called to do. Push through those Mundane Monday.