I woke up at my usual 5am, got dressed and went downstairs. I then found a notice on my phone that I had a voicemail from my employer. Right away I felt aggravated. I knew the voicemail could only be bad news for me and my PTO (paid time off) hours. As expected, I was indeed down staffed, not needed “Adios amigo”. You see, I have nearly every hour of PTO planned though the summer. Trips to California, South Carolina and a “staycation” with my husband. One illness, call off or any other unexpected event that causes me to miss work will throw off all of my plans. Arrrggh!!! I am a person who likes control and order, I am a manager of my days, I hate to waste time and I feel safe in “taking the bull by the horns” of my life.
In addition to being down staffed, I am “on call” which means I could be called back at any time, at their need and their whim. So, creating a new agenda for this day would be totally a waste of time and energy. The next 12 hours is still theirs. I need to be ready for an interruption at any time, nothing I plan can be set in stone, my day is still theirs, not my own. Poor little me!!!
As I began typing, I thought I had some encouraging and challenging ideas to share with all of you, however God placed this analogy in my mind. I hope you don’t mind if I share it with you. I am learning as I am typing, thank you for being my sounding board!!!!!
I am “dressed up with nowhere to go”, but that isn’t how we are called to start our days. We are to be dressed and ready to go. Dressed in the armor of God: belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit. Also, aren’t we to be “prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks us for a reason for our hope” at any time, any venue?
The longer I live this life as a servant of Christ, the more I come to realize that our gracious God is truly a God of interruptions. A God who sees way beyond what we can imagine. When you take in all of His creation and note that all things in nature have perfect synchronicity, you may think interruptions couldn’t possibly be his doing. Interruptions must always be our enemy and we must prevent them and preserve the predictable because that would be the “Christian” thing to do, the reasonable response to the unexpected and out of the ordinary.
Many years ago I read a book about the idea that God is a god of interruptions. At that time I was not at all a “pliable” person. I liked my “ducks in a row”, my agenda left undisturbed and most certainly expected those around me to cooperate. Because the straight and narrow, anticipated, plan for life is the godly life, right?
Oh, boy, was I mistaken!!!! and oh boy, how those suffered around me!! So many times hurt feeling could have been avoided, harsh words unsaid and never thought, judgements never passed. I could have demonstrated mercy, grace and service and enjoyed the unexpected “snow days” the Lord brought my way. But, I missed many chances because I was stuck in the thick of being in control, my god was called “order”.
When I read scripture and pay attention to the specific stories of how God has led, grown and blessed his children, I see a pattern. A pattern of interruptions and at times, seemingly, disorder. Abraham at the ripe old age of 75, minding his own business, is called to a place where there was no new job waiting for him, no google maps to examine his prospective new home AND, God hadn’t even answered his simple request for a son. He wanted him to go where, really?
Then there is Mary, young girl maybe 14 or 15, ordering flowers and interviewing photographers for her wedding, when God said: “Mary, change in plans…you will be impregnated with My child”. This would have been a resonable cause for stoning in those days if you were unwed. Oh, and by the way, before your eyes your son will be brutely murdered for the sins of the World. (Actually there is nothing in the scripture that records that part of their conversation, but Mary did have a strong faith and was famililar with the prophesies about the Messiah. As the song goes “Mary did you know…”).
For myself, I used to become quite unglued when life took unexpected turns. Just about any change caused me to go into severe panic attacks. I confess I still have that proclivity. However, I have since experienced interruptions are one of the many ways our father says “I love you”. He uses these things to open our eyes and see another way and more truths about himself. He uses them to say to us “I trust you with this, I know you can”. I hear him say “Karen, slow down, don’t miss the chance to serve, to see and to feel”. Today will never be repeated. As I have heard said, today is not a dress rehearsal.
So, will we “get our undies in a bunch” when our plans change, when we have to turn right when or signal was set for left? How will we respond when we sense the Holy Spirit leading us in a direction that is quite foreign to us. Can we humbly request God to makes us more and more like clay that can be formed and changed by His loving hands? Will we, can we, always be dressed and ready to go anywhere, anytime in his army. Are we able to give a reason for our faith at all times? Or will we continue to be non-pliable and very difficult to stretch and therefore grow and be used by our Father?
Let’s all be ready to interrupted, ready to share our faith at the time and place God created for us from the beginning. “For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” Ephesians 2:10.
I believe God has some amazing things ready for us, if we are willing!
Blessings,
Karen