Those Interruptions

Have you noticed how impatient we’ve become as a society? Not only have we come to despise waiting but we have little tolerance for imperfection. Heaven forbid our packages don’t arrive when we expect them to, our service providers have some glitches, the repairman man is late or the meeting is delayed. Our response to these inconveniences in life tells much about us. No judgement here – just leaving room for us to do a little self examination.

Don’t misunderstand me – I am all for quality of service, professionalism and great customer service. However, I think sometimes in midst of our demand for perfection, we forget our world is filled with imperfect people. There are often circumstances we have no control over, and a God who is a master at altering our plans. This was my experience this past holiday season.

It appeared my community had a new mailperson. I am never usually home when the mail van arrives so that piece of the puzzle missed me. However I noticed that I was getting pieces of mail for my neighbors a bit more often than usual. One of my neighbors so graciously dropped off a package of mine that was delivered to her box. One day, I got medications for a person in another community. We had the same house number but different street. What was happening? My first response was annoyance. I was going to bring the package to the post office and report this mailperson. This was incompetency at its best. We deserved better! Until I paused to hear that ‘still small voice’.

That quiet voice that told me to get in my car and drop off the medication to the intended address. And so I did. I didn’t know how long the medication was in my box because I don’t check for my mail daily. I could only imagine that this person was waiting patiently for their meds. Fortunately, someone was home and they were truly thankful for my small act of kindness. I chatted with a beautiful young lady who appeared to be a stay-home mom. It was her meds. As I said bye and walked to my car, again I heard that ‘ still small voice’ – “So that’s it?” Deep down I knew what that meant. I went back, rang the bell and asked if I could pray with her for a minute. She was like a thirsty parched soul in need of a glass of cool water. Tears flowed down her face as I prayed with her. This was a divine interruption that was all a part of God’s design. The imperfect mailperson was one part of the plan. This was an appointment made for me and I needed to be there.

God allows nothing without purpose. These small (or large ) irritants in life do not go unnoticed by the One whose ‘eyes run to and fro through out the earth’. So quickly we speak glibly about ‘everything happening for a reason’ – except when we are inconvenienced. I was reminded this holiday season not only to extend grace a bit more but also to be still enough to ‘hear’ how to respond to life’s unwelcomed interruptions. God still uses them to ‘work all things together for [our] good’.

Don’t miss the moment or the opportunity to be part of God’s grand design. He still uses people (the imperfect ones too) to bless people. The older I get the slower I am to get angry, the more I’m prompted to think before I speak. I am still learning the art of ‘being still’ and watching God unravel the frequent entanglements of life. No one can take the messes we walk into and create art like God can. May we be a little calmer next time our plans are interrupted. We may just be one of the players in a God-orchestrated masterpiece.

Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving];

James 1:19 (AMP)