Today’s #MondayMessage is inspired by my Senior Pastor, Reverend Ronnie L. Henry. Thank you, man of God.

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This past weekend my home state of Maryland received a gift that it hadn’t gotten in what seemed like forever. That’s right, we got some snow! From what I am told, the snow fell beautifully across the state on Saturday morning, before eventually changing into heavy rain that turned into ice as the hours passed on. What I love about my state is that if you do not like the current weather, you can just wait a few moments and it’ll change. LOL! Nothing lasts forever, especially weather conditions in Maryland.

Yet for my pastor and his wife, Saturday’s weather was a bit of a shocker for them as they had just returned from a lovely beach/resort birthday getaway and now looked at snow/ice on the ground. Can you imagine that, Beloved? One day looking at beautifully sunny skies, and then the next day looking at freshly fallen snow and crystallizing ice? In what seems like the blink of an eye, everything can change and what we once knew, is no longer the reality that stares back at us.

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Beloved, on this second Monday of 2024, I know that this is someone’s testimony. In the seven days that have proceeded today, I have already seen social media posts that express sorrow over the loss of a loved one, confusion and divisiveness as secrets are revealed, joy as new life comes into the world, and hope as people set their intentions for the year ahead. Time only moves forward making our tomorrow different from today, and today different from yesterday. The words of the Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, that said something to the effect of “the only constant in life is change” have never been more true than it is today in 2024. Yet as Believers, we can cling to the words of The Chicago Mass Choir when they said that “time is filled with swift transitions, none on earth unmoved can stand, build your hope on things eternal, hold to God’s unchanging hand.”

Whose hand are you holding today, sweet friend? We are living in a time where those expensive cell phones that are semi-glued to our hands can bring joy, sorrow, despair, disillusion, confusion, or hope with just one click or scroll. In the time that it takes for you to read this post, someone else’s life just changed drastically. In the time that it takes for you to read this post, we have aged forward, minutes older (and hopefully, wiser) than we were before. It is because of that fact that we must be mindful about who we chose to walk with because not all hands were built to weather the storms of this life.

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Because we know that time moves quickly in one direction and never looks back, we have to be intentional about the moment that is before us. In addition to admiring the snow from the blessed coziness of my home, I also declared that I am putting my phone on DND (Do Not Disturb) at the conclusion of my work day on Friday, and leaving it silenced until the start of my work week. My purpose behind this intentional shift is to drown out the sounds of the world so that I both hear the words of my God… and be mentally present wherever I am physically present. I pray that as the year progresses, God gives me strength to completely disconnect on the weekends because I am tired and the mental rest that I need can only be given by God. Hear me clearly, Beloved, when I say that I need “rest”, I mean that I need time away from the busyness of the world so that I can write. Writing is a balm that God gifted to me, in an attempt to heal from everything in my past. I cherish it today because it brings me closer to God and being in His presence allows me to be restored, replenished, and revitalized.

Here I am, God, present and ready to work. I am holding onto Your hand as we press through today, tomorrow, eternity, and every day in between.

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Brave heart, let us go into this day with God’s grace and strength, present and alert to Him and Him alone. Time will change, people will change, but our God will never change.

Be blessed.