Interruptions
Early this morning I was in an auto service center waiting for Betty’s car to be serviced. While there I was reading some thoughts from one of my favorite authors Bob Goff. He said, “we won’t be remembered for what we said but for how available we were.” I knew that I was getting ready to be rebuked. 😊 I’m a person that has an everyday agenda and I try to fit into 24 hours all that I had planned for that day. Most of us live such busy, planned lives that any distraction or interruption sends us off the deep end. I’m guilty, guilty, guilty of that.
As I reflected on these thoughts I began to reminisce of my journey and began to think of the names of persons, who were busy and stopped what they were doing to patiently assist me. They listened with their heart and loved on me giving me all the time I needed. I remembered too, those who were also busy who had very little time to offer other than to fit me into a time slot. You can tell those people who have one foot out the door while they are “listening” to you.
When we look at the life of Jesus, we see a person (God-Man) who was willing to be constantly interrupted. Whether it was a little child, a woman with an issue of blood, a guy hanging in a sycamore tree or blind Bartimaeus He always saw the person, not a problem. He never consulted with the Disciples to work people into a time schedule. Jesus never saw people as interruptions but rather as opportunities. (paraphrased from Mr. Goff)
For twelve months a year I instruct and minister to online college students in two Christian Universities. I average over one hundred new students every eight weeks from every background and many different religious persuasions. With such a diverse group of people I am constantly interrupted, distracted and sought after with many various problems. I sometimes begin as early as 5:30 AM and usually close my computer after the late news each evening. My desire is to realize that each student is a person with a story on a real journey. I want to always be available with my time to love, minister and pray for each one.
Even more important than that is my family, friends and even people who I meet in the market place every day whom I might need to cause an interruption in my day. If you’re like me, let’s look for ways to be more flexible and loving with our time, turning those interruptions into opportunities.