Holy Interruptions

I was in the middle of baking.
It is a recipe I make all the time.
I know the ingredients like the back of my hand.
I can bake this recipe without even looking at the cookbook.

I was called away when my husband wanted to show me something he was working on outside.
I was interrupted for just a few minutes.
When I came back to my Kitchen Aid mixer, I wondered.
Did I just put baking soda or baking powder in the batter?

Both items were on the counter.
If the forgotten ingredient had been sugar, that would have been easy to discern.
If the forgotten ingredient had been salt, that would have been detectable.
This was different; I was not quite sure which ingredient I had just put into the bowl.

Thankfully, only the dry ingredients were in the mixing bowl.
I started over.
I paid attention.
This time, I did not get interrupted again.

Sometimes, I wish I could hang a DO NOT DISTURB sign for others to see.
Sometimes, I wish I could get a task done before I get interrupted.
Sometimes, I wish I could write a full sentence before something needs my attention.
Sometimes, I wish I could finish reading a chapter before the phone rings.

Interruptions are all around us.
Interruptions call us away from what is really important.
Or do they?
Could those interruptions be the more important thing?

As I was pondering my attitude towards interruptions, I talked to a friend after church.
She is a mother of three children who have been home schooled.
She teaches music and directs a choir as part of a homeschooling co-op.
She also teaches private music lessons in her home.

She told me that she had been asked to chaperone a high school field trip.
She is excited on the one hand.
She is a bit apprehensive on the other hand.
She knows how much she has to juggle her schedule in order to go on the trip.

Isn’t that the way God does things sometimes?
God places interruptions in our path.
God is concerned with how we react to the interruption of our schedule.
How do we handle those things that take us away from what we think is important?

When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.  He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat. (Mark 5:21-43)

Jesus’ life was filled with interruptions.
Those interruptions were not accidental.
Those interruptions were God-ordained.
Jesus’ interruptions were often the more important thing.

A little girl was raised from the dead and given back to her parents.
A woman, cut off from society and unclean from her bleeding, was healed.
The blind began to see, the lame walked, the deaf could hear, and the mute could speak.
Kingdom work was done because of Jesus’ interruptions and His attitude towards them.

Can you imagine our Savior refusing to help those who were not on His schedule?
Can you imagine how many would not hear the Word of God if Jesus had other plans?
Can you imagine those who would not have come to faith had Jesus been too busy?
Can you imagine our Lord Jesus having an attitude of annoyance when He was interrupted?

Jesus’ life was filled with interruptions.
We can learn much from His example.
Jesus knew that those interruptions were Kingdom opportunities.
What if we saw our interruptions the same way?

I started over.
It was not the end of the world that I had to begin my recipe again.
Could the interruptions in our lives be God-ordained moments?
Could the interruptions have a greater Kingdom purpose than our original schedule?

Interruptions are inevitable.
Nothing is out of God’s sovereign hands.
Seeing our interruptions as Kingdom opportunities is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
If we begin to see our interruptions this way, we may begin to excitedly anticipate them.

Wouldn’t that be nice?