Interrupted!

I am an organized doer, but every now and then I come up upon a massive interruption that interferes with all my plans.

I like to start my day with a list of tasks, cross them off one by one as I accomplish them, and victoriously crumple and lob the finished list in the trash bin at day's end.

I find great satisfaction in setting and accomplishing my goals.

It's just that those goals aren't always HIS, and to get my attention, He sometimes has to make an interruption into my life.

The interruption that came my way the other morning wasn't pleasant.  In all ways it was acutely painful.  I awoke with a splitting migraine headache along with a flair of another health issue I regularly battle.  Frankly, I was miserable.  It was the kind of sick that one cannot even think clearly enough to manage a call to the doctor.

Because of this unexpected interruption, I missed an appointment for major car service, a lunch meeting with other writers, and I didn't even get near my list of to-do's for the remainder of that day.  Instead, I sat curled up in a cozy blanket, stretched out on a recliner, and loopy from prescription medications.

I did have a sweet time of rest and prayer, though.  Talking to Jesus throughout my day was relaxing and calming.

Maybe He had missed me.
Maybe He created the interruption.
Maybe I ought to train myself to recognize those divine interruptions more quickly.

Research is full of data about interruptions in the work place.  One survey reports that employees suffer an average of 56 interruptions per day.  I'm fairly sure my husband would argue that the number in his office is more than that.  Some days he comes home claiming to have accomplished nothing due to all the interruptions.

The Bible, too, is full of famous people whose lives have been interrupted.  Divinely interrupted, to be sure.  From the beginning of the Old Testament to the end of the New, there are plenty of examples:

Adam was interrupted by a snake and an apple.
Abraham's life was interrupted by an unexpected moving plan.
Jonah's life was interrupted by a moment of disobedience and a large fish.
Joseph's life plan was interrupted by a lengthy prison sentence.
Samson's life was interrupted by a timely haircut.
Moses was interrupted by a bizarre fiery bush that didn't burn.
David's life was interrupted by a beautiful woman bathing on a nearby roof.
Mary's life was interrupted by a miraculous pregnancy.
A bunch of fishermen's lives were interrupted by a man wanting them to follow him.
Lazarus' life was interrupted by a four-day stay in a tomb.
Malchus' life was interrupted when his ear was violently sliced off.
Jesus' life with his Father was interrupted by 33 years on earth spent with us.

And there are so many more.

I'd like to say I welcomed the interruption to my plans the other day with grace and a Godly outlook.  I'd be lying, though.  Instead, I grumbled, complained, whined, and huffed and puffed in frustration.

I want to get better at this.  I do want to wear the Holy Spirit lenses at all times, those "glasses" that enable me to see and welcome each divine interruption.  I want to see them as clearly as if an elephant were entering the room next to me.

Lord, teach me to graciously accept the interruptions that come my way throughout each day.  With your Holy Spirit living in me, give me the ability to see your divine interruptions clearly and to know your purpose for them and my part in them.  I eagerly ask you to have your way in me at all times.  I love you and want to please you.  Amen.

Have you experienced any divine interruptions in your life lately?