Charis Corner: Stories of Grace in a Broken World
By Kari Mahara
JACK:
The alarm blares at 6:30 a.m. It’s Monday morning…again. The day flies by,
full of meetings, phone calls, clients. Emergencies crop up like storm clouds
during this muggy month of June. I find myself yanked around, finding missing
files and on hold while my fingers scurry across the keyboard. Before I know
it, five o’clock rolls around, and I try to untangle the mess that fills my
email and spills across my desk. I head home, help with dinner,
get the kids to bed, and procrastinate going to sleep. I lose myself in
television shows and Bleacher Report on my phone, avoiding the dread seeping
in.
Tomorrow morning, I’ll start it all again, and when I think
about that, I wonder again what I’m doing. What’s the point? I hate the stress,
the tedious demand of work and kids. There’s no relief, no break. And the truth
is, everyone I know is doing the exact same thing.
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We look forward to the weekend, to vacation, to holidays. We
put our eyes—our focus—on tomorrow, yearning for rest and peace, but it’s only
temporary. Monday always comes, bringing back these same emotions and fear—that
this is all there is.
Rudy and I had the opportunity to take our family on a
Caribbean cruise with my father-in-law’s family. This experience was mind-blowing.
Out there in the middle of the ocean, we’re not worried about Monday or work.
There’s no internet, no cell service. You’re on a boat in the middle of the
ocean with only God to trust, which for me was terrifying, as I have a phobia
of drowning. There were waves, lots of them. So much so I had trouble climbing
the ladder to my bed.
But the beauty was captivating. The stars filled the sky,
constellations painting pictures and weaving stories. The white sand beach and
vivid blue waters reminded us there is a whole other world out there. And as we
pushed our kids in the stroller along the streets of Grand Cayman, we realized
our lives weren’t so terrible.
But then Monday morning came again.
So what’s the solution? We all know the “right” answer. But
what does it mean practically in our day-to-day life?
Every single day, God is working. Do you know what He’s
doing? Have you even asked? We focus so closely on ourselves, we miss the
exquisite workings of God in our lives, in our world. That 5-5-5 time isn’t
another demand on your time, it’s a lifeline to all the strength, purpose, and
peace we need to make it in this world. So when trouble comes, we can still
praise Him, love Him, and trust He works all things for our good (Romans 8:28).
1 Thessalonians 5:16-19: “Rejoice always, pray continually,
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ
Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.”
