Life Interrupted

“We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions. We may pass them by, preoccupied with our more important tasks, as the priest passed by the man who had fallen among thieves, perhaps—reading the Bible.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

I have lived in this place for a long time. Focused on the task with little room or patience for “interruptions”. God has freed me from being a slave to the to-do list. That doesn’t mean I get to be lazy or sloppy, but that my perspective has changed to being open and expectant for the “interruptions” that come. Those are the times when I see God most often. 

Bonhoeffer goes on to say…”When we do that, we pass by the visible sign of the Cross raised athwart our path to show us that not our way, but God’s way must be done. It is a strange fact that Christians and even ministers frequently consider their work so important and urgent that they will allow nothing to disturb them. They think they are doing God a service in this, but actually they are disdaining God’s “crooked yet straight path” (Gottfried Arnold)…But it is part of the discipline of humility that we must not spare our hand where it can perform a service and that we do not assume that our schedule is our own to manage, but allow it to be arranged by God.”

Last week my focus was on strategic planning, praying about a fundraising strategy for the ministry, building a website, creating images for upcoming sermons and events, and on it goes. Because of renovations at the church, I work at home most days. But on the days I work at the church, I know there are going to be interruptions. The doors are always open and people come in and want to chat. So I have learned to be prepared for that. 

I have had so many life-giving encounters when I am “interrupted”. I talked with a guy last week who was wrestling with some insecurities and we were able to minister to each other. There is a young single mom who has begun to trust me enough to let me babysit her 3-month old baby so she could go to training for her new job. Needless to say I got no work done that day, but it was a joy to help her as she works to make a better life for herself and her daughter. 

The opportunities we have to show the love of God opens the door to proclaim the Word of God. This is a life-long commitment with eternal results. 

I still struggle sometimes with being task-focused, but the more God shows me his love and mercy through divine encounters, the more I look forward to having my life interrupted.