Mondays.
I set out to descriptively write about my perfect Monday. My Monday, that began with reading a whole book by Marisa de Los Santos, and ended with the last pages of that book. (Contrary to how it may seem, I didn’t want to do this to make everyone jealous, but to work on my creative writing.) Then, around 3 pm, that dark cloud entered into my perfect Monday. This day, this cloud felt a lot like guilt and chains- guilt for following my own heart, and chains trapping me beneath a lifestyle and people that I cannot find my way away from; chains that have “Christianity” written on them, but where the heart of that isn’t shown.
But then, I was wondering to myself how on earth to get my perfect Monday back. I began to ponder on the carriage ride through Denver on Saturday night. There were lights strung from tree to tree that I swear were singing. The horse was snorting and trotting through the street, as to say “I AM king of this street. Please move.” The sky was a beautiful dark blue, with milky, white clouds sneaking in. The carriage was white and the blanket was a luscious, shimmery magenta. And I was the princess of the town, enjoying some much needed time with a prince, and our three closest friends.
Ah, there it is. My happiness…and my want to write again.
And so, I woke up this morning feeling like a day of rest. I am normally a very busy person. I fill my days with plans and lunch dates and exercise routines-alright, maybe not enough of those. Yet, I felt a tug on my heart to just be today. God reminds us to rest in His word, His silence, and His comfort; and I needed that today. I began to read a book by Marisa de los Santos. Love Walked In is a wonderful novel with two characters-each unique, and each similar to characters in me. The story involves a young girl who reads books and puts herself into the story, and a young woman who watches movies and waits for the movie to happen in her own life. I enjoyed scrambled eggs and avocado comfortably in my sweats, under my big, brown, chocolate-like covers.
Later, I decided to take this ‘indulgence’ to the next level. Upstairs, beyond the gossip and the fuss and the mess of a 6-bedroom, teen and twenty-something’s, three-story house, there is a vacant room (for now, anyway) with a large Jacuzzi tub. Oh, yes, please. I grab my book, my bath robe, a computer equipped with Pandora, and some Vanilla Chai Tea-my favorite of all teas. As I climb the stairs, I feel much like Lucy, about to enter my own Narnia. I feel trapped inside this house, in this town, and yet I’m about to leave it all behind with some Jack Johnson, more reading, and the smells of vanilla and spices.
You know the feeling when you first climb into a hot tub, after you’ve been cold and your muscles ache from the hard work? Yup, that’s how this felt.
And then, just as I’m reading a line in the story…
Finally, he said, “The trouble with your face is that it’s ruining me for other faces. It’s making me rethink every other face I’ve ever liked.”
…I realize THIS is my heaven today. Yes, cheesy lines like that just make my day. Or how about the line from the movie ‘Notorius’ also quoted in this book? Ingrid and Cary…
Kissing him, laughing, she accuses him of not loving her. “When I don’t love you, I’ll let you know.” He says.
(Most of you are hurling…I know.)
And in the background, Josh Kelley snuck himself in…
Treat her like a lady, and she’ll never get enough…
Oh, how right you are, Josh.
I almost feel like I’m having a little TOO much fun; like I might be enjoying this TOO much. And then, I look down at the 5 misshaped green, blue, and black bruises down my calf from falling down an entire flight of stairs last week. Dang, that hurt.
(Now you’re laughing aren’t you?)
But that’s the point! Life often hands us a flight of stairs in the dark sometimes. Sometimes, we are hit by a garage door, or stuck in the heart with words and actions. Days like my Monday are sometimes few and far between. But, if you let yourself soak in those moments of carriage rides and bubble baths, you find yourself smiling again. And so what if my ‘guilty pleasures’ are cheesy lines and love stories? What if my happiness comes from a song lyric, freshly shaved legs, or a really good cheeseburger? The trick, the ultimate key, is to find things that bring happiness and joy back into your life. God created beauty, and music, and nature, and love so that we might enjoy the kingdom He has created for us in the middle of the battle we sometimes fight. He loves us so much that He wants to see us smile and laugh and ENJOY.
Take time, every now and then and as often as possible, to rest in Him and to enjoy something; anything! Because there are still those times in each day that guilt, deception, and just plain mean, come knocking at your door. And we can’t possibly survive without a few bubble baths.
But then, I was wondering to myself how on earth to get my perfect Monday back. I began to ponder on the carriage ride through Denver on Saturday night. There were lights strung from tree to tree that I swear were singing. The horse was snorting and trotting through the street, as to say “I AM king of this street. Please move.” The sky was a beautiful dark blue, with milky, white clouds sneaking in. The carriage was white and the blanket was a luscious, shimmery magenta. And I was the princess of the town, enjoying some much needed time with a prince, and our three closest friends.
Ah, there it is. My happiness…and my want to write again.
And so, I woke up this morning feeling like a day of rest. I am normally a very busy person. I fill my days with plans and lunch dates and exercise routines-alright, maybe not enough of those. Yet, I felt a tug on my heart to just be today. God reminds us to rest in His word, His silence, and His comfort; and I needed that today. I began to read a book by Marisa de los Santos. Love Walked In is a wonderful novel with two characters-each unique, and each similar to characters in me. The story involves a young girl who reads books and puts herself into the story, and a young woman who watches movies and waits for the movie to happen in her own life. I enjoyed scrambled eggs and avocado comfortably in my sweats, under my big, brown, chocolate-like covers.
Later, I decided to take this ‘indulgence’ to the next level. Upstairs, beyond the gossip and the fuss and the mess of a 6-bedroom, teen and twenty-something’s, three-story house, there is a vacant room (for now, anyway) with a large Jacuzzi tub. Oh, yes, please. I grab my book, my bath robe, a computer equipped with Pandora, and some Vanilla Chai Tea-my favorite of all teas. As I climb the stairs, I feel much like Lucy, about to enter my own Narnia. I feel trapped inside this house, in this town, and yet I’m about to leave it all behind with some Jack Johnson, more reading, and the smells of vanilla and spices.
You know the feeling when you first climb into a hot tub, after you’ve been cold and your muscles ache from the hard work? Yup, that’s how this felt.
And then, just as I’m reading a line in the story…
Finally, he said, “The trouble with your face is that it’s ruining me for other faces. It’s making me rethink every other face I’ve ever liked.”
…I realize THIS is my heaven today. Yes, cheesy lines like that just make my day. Or how about the line from the movie ‘Notorius’ also quoted in this book? Ingrid and Cary…
Kissing him, laughing, she accuses him of not loving her. “When I don’t love you, I’ll let you know.” He says.
(Most of you are hurling…I know.)
And in the background, Josh Kelley snuck himself in…
Treat her like a lady, and she’ll never get enough…
Oh, how right you are, Josh.
I almost feel like I’m having a little TOO much fun; like I might be enjoying this TOO much. And then, I look down at the 5 misshaped green, blue, and black bruises down my calf from falling down an entire flight of stairs last week. Dang, that hurt.
(Now you’re laughing aren’t you?)
But that’s the point! Life often hands us a flight of stairs in the dark sometimes. Sometimes, we are hit by a garage door, or stuck in the heart with words and actions. Days like my Monday are sometimes few and far between. But, if you let yourself soak in those moments of carriage rides and bubble baths, you find yourself smiling again. And so what if my ‘guilty pleasures’ are cheesy lines and love stories? What if my happiness comes from a song lyric, freshly shaved legs, or a really good cheeseburger? The trick, the ultimate key, is to find things that bring happiness and joy back into your life. God created beauty, and music, and nature, and love so that we might enjoy the kingdom He has created for us in the middle of the battle we sometimes fight. He loves us so much that He wants to see us smile and laugh and ENJOY.
Take time, every now and then and as often as possible, to rest in Him and to enjoy something; anything! Because there are still those times in each day that guilt, deception, and just plain mean, come knocking at your door. And we can’t possibly survive without a few bubble baths.
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