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"Life is a series of interruptions interrupted by interruptions" said an anonymous person. It does not take too long for any one of us to realize that life is full of interruptions; in fact some of you may be considering this e-mail/article as an interruption from what you were doing a few minutes ago. Webster defines interruptions as things that stop or hinder by breaking in. They are often considered as thieves that steal our time and energy from what we should be doing, or plan to be doing.
A flat tire, traffic jam, unexpected phone calls, computer mishaps, family emergencies, fussy kids, lingering flu, people who waste our time…etc are all seen as interruptions that hinder us from going as fast as we want to be going in life. Interruptions can be a source of tremendous drain and waste of time. Many people in the business world train themselves to eliminate or skillfully avoid interruptions at work place because they believe interruptions hinder their productivity. While it is true that some interruptions hinder productivity, it is also true that some interruptions are blessings in disguise. I personally believe that God ordains our life with interruptions that force us to pause, reflect and redefine or redirect our journey. Blaine Smith in his article “Handling life’s interruptions: Expecting the best from the unexpected” says “Interruptions sometimes truly are serendipities in disguise. Most of us can benefit from developing greater optimism about them, and about the possibility that God will use them to our advantage. A higher expectation of God’s extending help to us through interruptions not only will keep our blood pressure down when they occur, but make us more alert to the ways that he may be working for our benefit through the unexpected….Changing the way we think about interruptions is a good place to start, for in them we sometimes encounter the unseen hand of God.” In his article “Handling Interruptions the Godly way” Dennis Rainey says “Interruptions don't have to be viewed as thieves who "take away," but as divinely ordered construction zones which God can add to our lives…. Over the past few years I've been interrupted enough that I've developed some convictions about interruptions: 1. God isn't looking at the clock, but at my character. 2. He has liberally used interruptions to chip away at arrogance in my life. 3. Interruptions remind me I am not in control of my life. 4. A life without interruptions would become too predictable—even downright boring.” A few days ago I was getting ready for a class; I did my homework and was all excited about the next class when a homeless person walked into our church. This was not the first time I saw a homeless person at our doors, I really wanted to avoid him but something told me that I should listen to him. I ended up skipping my class and spending the next couple of hours talking and caring for him. It seemed like a definite interruption at the moment, but I would have missed a great opportunity to learn some life lessons had I chose to avoid him. If we notice the life of Jesus, it was filled with many interruptions. He chose to address some interruptions even though his disciples tried to block them (like healing the lepers on the roadside and spending time with children, Matt 19:13-15) and intentionally avoided some interruptions that were suggested by his own disciples (Mk 1:36-38). I believe the key to Jesus’ ability to discern is his strong and continuous connection with his Father, mentioned in Mk 1:35. In the words of C.S. Lewis “What we must do is to stop regarding unpleasant or unexpected things as interruptions of real life. The truth is that interruptions are real life, the real life that God sends us day by day. What we call our real life is but a phantom of our imagination.” So instead of trying to avoid all interruptions in life let us ask God for discernment so that we will not miss the unseen hand of God as we race through this life. Remember that the only ones who have absolutely no interruptions are the dead; suddenly interruptions don’t seem that bad, isn’t it. Enjoy life.
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