Interruptions

 February 17, 2023

Interruptions seem at times to be the basic building blocks of life. Some people are forever disorganized, running in a dozen directions at once, spinning their wheels. I suppose if you’re not really going anywhere, there’s no such thing as an interruption, but if you have goals, aspirations, or dreams for your future, you know some things will help you get there, and other stuff just gets in the way.

The problem is, some of the stuff that gets in the way turns out to be part of the plan. From the time I was 14, I planned on being a missionary. I was actually quite enamored with Mission Aviation Fellowship, an organization that flew supplies and missionaries into remote parts of the world, landing on airstrips improvised from fields carved from jungles, rivers, sandbars, and wherever a small aircraft could be safely put down. That was my plan, my future.

My plans were interrupted when I met Linda. That meeting turned out to be the real plan; I just didn’t know it at the time. Her plans were interrupted in a different way. When she received Christ as Savior, she struck a bargain: she wasn’t going to work in a Christian summer camp, she wasn’t going to marry a preacher, and she wasn’t going to go to Africa as a missionary. That first summer, she worked at a summer camp, the next year we met and began dating. She hasn’t yet made it to Africa, but who knows?

Then there was the time Linda and I were out to dinner before taking in a play at our local amateur theater. We were looking forward to an evening together when we got the call. “We’re at the ER, but Matt’s OK.” Nate was calling to let us know that when they and their cousins were kneeboarding behind my brother’s powerboat, a missed cue ended up with them zigging when they should have zagged, an Matt getting a knee board across the bridge of his nose. So much for our plans.

I’m taking our son Nate’s class on knowing God. One of the disciplines is daily Bible reading, prayer, and journaling; no exceptions, no excuses. He says he’ll kick out of class anyone who doesn’t do this. I’m his father, and though I can’t say for sure he would follow through on this, I don’t want to take any chances. After all, how would it look for the retired preacher to get bounced from class because he didn’t read his Bible?

So this morning, I had it all planned out. I’d get up early, work out, read my Bible and pray. However, Linda wasn’t feeling well and asked if I would just lay beside her so she could get back to sleep after a fitful night. It wasn’t even 7:00 am, and my plans were starting to unravel. By the time I got up, worked out, showered and had breakfast, it was time to go to my Spanish lesson with my friend Clark. Clark is a wonderful friend, and we not only talk Spanish, but swap stories about life, and at 90, he has plenty of stories to tell. We didn’t finish till 1:00.

I got home, had a quick lunch and settled into my chair to read. I had just scribbled a few notes in my journal when my phone rang. It was my friend Chuck, Facetiming me for our weekly connection and prayer. Like Clark, Chuck and I talked about all sorts of things before praying for each other. By then, it was nearly 5:00 and the first of the grandchildren arrived for their twice-monthly overnight. 

I managed to slip away for a short while to read and pray, but now it’s nearly 10:30. My time reading and praying was significantly truncated, which makes me grateful that a relationship with God is just that—a relationship instead of ritual, or rules, or religion. Just as there have been times when Linda and my plans have been interrupted, my time with the Lord was interrupted, but I noticed something significant: I didn’t lose the awareness of his presence, his love, mercy, and grace. Our relationship has been built over the years, and a single day’s interruption was only just that; the connection remains strong. Tomorrow is another day. I’ll get up early because I know it will be busy, and I’ll have my time with God. Hopefully, uninterrupted.