Mondays

“Words are things, I’m convinced. You must be careful about the words you use or the words you allow to be used in your house.”  Maya Angelou

Sheez.  Today was Monday all over.  Seems like everyone I know had a “Monday” today.  From work issues to family problems to shark infestations on the beach; from people tending to someone else’s business to school issues to painful self realizations. It was well and truly Monday in every negative sense of the word.  Of course, those are the days that I’m always taught a lesson, and, unfortunately, the “painful self realization” was mine.  Or, maybe, fortunately.  I guess it depends on how you look at it.

The truth is, I reacted badly to a situation that I could have diffused with a few simple, easy going words.  I was confronted rudely and with anger, and I responded in kind.  I felt quite justified until the words I spoke in haste trickled into a sticky situation for someone I love.  That’s the thing about words.  They have such power.  Good and bad.  And, we should always use our powers for good.

I hope it’s “lesson learned” for me, but I’ve been notoriously thick skulled and unable to learn from my mistakes in the past, so I’m calling on God for this one.  He’s the only One who has ever been able to make my “lessons learned” stick, and I’m sure there have been many times He shook His head in frustration at my inability to remember them.  Like today.

As always happens, there was good strewn among the bad. I had an impromptu lunch with an old friend who was also having a “Monday,” and we laughed our Mondays away.  That’s the awesome thing about true friends.  You may not see each other or even talk to each other often, but when you do reconnect, you pick up right where you left off. I’m thankful to have several such friendships in my life and I hold them close to my heart. The true treasure of life – the “anti-Monday,” people that you love.

So, I’m offering a prayer that I’ll learn from my Monday mistakes, and remember to temper my words.  Our words, written or spoken, have so much power that we should always weigh and measure them carefully before they’re poured out on a wounded world.

 

And, tomorrow I get to run. The week is already looking up.