Welcome Life’s Interruptions

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Welcome Life’s Interruptions

I was supposed to be on a cruise this week. Seven days of rest and relaxation sunk into an ocean of despair with one phone call.

Your grandmother is not well.

I hung up the receiver after my mom called me at the office and said a prayer for clarity before I shared the heartbreaking news with my husband.

Lord, make my way clear this week.

I chose to spend three days sitting quietly next to the two most important women in my life. I prayed for peace and comfort. I read from psalms aloud in Spanish. I gathered in close and let everything else float away.

I didn’t answer e-mail or return phone calls. I didn’t pack my sunscreen or camera. I didn’t check one thing off my to-do list or scour social media for the latest news.

In the world’s economy, I wasted a week.

But in God’s estimation, I made an eternal difference.

I pressed in and chose to be fully present for my people.

On Monday, my grandmother stepped into eternity and stood before her Savior. I plugged in to Jesus for a few hours before the service for some much-needed restoration. I picked up the book on the top of my nightstand pile and read this quote:

My whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted until I discovered the interruptions were my work.

~Henri Nouwen

The author, Mark Buchanan, encouraged his readers to follow the example of Christ and “be generous with time.” Our Savior never hurried. He stopped along the way for children, the sick, the weary, and the lost. He accepted that miracles and ministry often happen when life is messy.

May the Lord help me

to see obstacles as opportunities for His Kingdom purposes.
to stop focusing on the urgent and invest in the eternal.
to set aside my agenda and be fully present for my people.

True joy comes when I welcome interruptions as an invitation to slow down and engage in a Providential assignment.