Monday Morning Madness

Krrrrinnng!

My alarm clock reminds me its just 6:20. Surely, I give myself enough snooze-time but maybe the toss and turn on bed during the night make me groggy. I repeatedly hit the snooze button for a few precious minutes in the land of nod.

As I lie dormant, I hear the clock alarms again. I stretch my arm and wink at it. No, it can be 7:00 am! Frantically, I go to the bathroom and do my morning rituals in a flash. In a nick of time, I hit the road like I own it.

Monday morning madness begins! There’s so much commotion all around. In one corner I see an irate vendor yells at one of her helper while the dog barks to sympathize. Several passengers queue for taxi. Taxi drivers honk their horn so loud to get rid of tricycles blocking the way. Earsplitting perk up music on a nearby eatery. And the fact that I’ll be late for work if I don’t hurry adds to the deafening hustle and bustle of this busy street. Gosh, this is the downside of living in Manila!

My long strides exhaust me. I get to the office as fast as I can only to find that I can’t keep my eyes open long enough to concentrate on the day ahead of me.

Admittedly, I run after wasted time. My mind is preoccupied in rushing through everything that needs to be done and getting out of the door as quickly as possible. Because I am deafened by the noisy confusion of life, I opt to make myself into a madman rather than to slow down for a minute and to recollect what God has done in my life.

If I am not in such a hurry today, I could have smiled at one of the taxi drivers who may have a bad start of the day as I am. Perhaps I could have kicked up a passengers’ day by a simple nod. Or maybe I could have offered a silent prayer for the vendor’s business dealings today.

Undoubtedly, God patiently gives me another chance tomorrow to “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead” (Ephesians 5:14, NIV) so that Christ will shine in me. I thank God for making this imperfect day perfect for contemplation and refinement of my Christian character.