Opportunities in the Interruptions

Opportunities in the Interruptions

Galatians 6:9-10 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Interruptions can drive a person crazy. You know the days. You have a plan of all the things you want to accomplish but other things keep popping up. It happens to me in the office all the time. I have an idea of when I want to accomplish certain tasks in my work. I keep a mental schedule of what needs to be done when. And then the emails and phone calls start coming in, all requiring a pastor's attention. The interruptions start changing my whole day. I know I'm not the only one. You get the unexpected phone call or visitor in middle of a busy day, a car or machine breaks down at the worst time, your internet is too slow and the copier/printer goes on strike for no appar-ent reason. Or when a child needs your constant attention, someone suddenly needs a friend, or you have to drop everything for a family member. It's easy to see the inter-ruptions of life as problems when they keep you from your already scheduled to-do list. It's easy to become anxious, and hurried and weary in trying to do it all.

For Paul to say to the Galatians, "let us not become weary in doing good", kind of feels like telling someone to calm down. It's hard to resist, but I think we all know just telling someone to calm down just never works. So what does Paul mean? "Let us not become weary in doing good"? I don't think Paul means we're just supposed to work harder, pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, just put our heads down and press through the daily grind. He's saying, don't give up walking in God's purpose. When we're really weary, we may become careless. We may lose our patience more quickly. We may throw our hands up, give up on something and walk away.

But what if the "problems" are actually the far more important work of God? What if the interruptions are actually opportunities from God to live in his grace? The child that needs attention is special to God and needs nurturing connection in that moment. The friend who needs someone to talk to is made in God's image and your presence with them matters more than the projects you're working on.

There is certainly a time to rest in the life of Christ and take a break from work. There

is also a time to press into responsibilities because God is present in those moments.

It helps keep in perspective the work that God places before us, especially caring for

the people of God before us. It's holy work. Therefore, let us do good to all people as

we have opportunity. So let's not become weary in answering those challenging

phone calls, text messages and emails. Because it's holy work for people made in

God's image. Let's not become weary in showing up for people when it's inconvenient

because it's holy work. Getting on the floor to play with our kids and be fully present

for them is holy work. Giving our spouses our full attention after a busy day is holy

work. God invites us to keep our eyes open to see the opportunities before us as we

face the interruptions of this life. Those interruptions might just the be best opportunity

to understand and demonstrate God's grace.