Interruptions

“Your ministry is to whoever is right in front of you.”–Jill Savage, Real Moms…Real Jesus

Those words pierced my soul as I read them.

It was page 2 of the introduction to the book, and already I knew my life as a mom was about to change.

For so long I had been tempted to resent all the interruptions of my day. Can’t I just finish one task before being bombarded by another? Most mornings my feet hit the floor with demands knocking on my bedroom door and my day begins with an ever growing list of to do’s, many of which have lingered or been rolled over from the days and weeks prior.

The nagging feeling of reaching for the bed at night and feeling as if there is nothing to show for my day. The lack of physical evidence of all the spent energy. It wears at me.

Before kids there was hard physical evidence of my work day. A well organized and documented classroom. Desks marred with the evidence of learning. Grade books filled with the trajectory of progress. But now all my days spill into each other with no distinct outlines of progress and are belayed with the seemingly same piles of laundry and half swept floors and overflowing toy bins. A growing sense of Groundhog day lurks in my mind as each day mirrors the one before.

I’m grateful in it all. It’s what I fully desired–to be home with my children full time and be the home maker; but somehow it feels as if I’m just with children all day and the home making aspect is more of a “keep the house standing” task rather than “home making.”

I repeatedly tell myself and joke with other mom friends, “If I could just get this one room complete, or this one task done and checked off the list, THEN I could get some REAL stuff done; but I’m just constantly interrupted!” I mean, I can’t even go to the bathroom without a child’s hand being crammed under the door and cries of despair echoing through the lock. There is no time for myself. No lunch break. No time to just think.

And I don’t think I ever actually resent helping my kids, it’s just all the interruptions to what I had planned, was hoping to accomplish, thought my day would look like, etc.

And then Jill Savage interrupts my pouting and groans to remind me that Jesus was constantly interrupted as well. Walking to his next appointment/destination, a blind man follows behind him shout “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me” (Mark 10:47) and Jesus stops what He is doing, turns around and helps him. Another time, Jesus is once again in route for His day and whatever plans they may have, when Jairus comes and asks for Jesus to come and heal his daughter. Jesus turns and begins to journey that way instead, when, once again He is interrupted in the middle of this first detour to be drawn aside by another “distraction”— the woman with the issue of blood. And this second interruption “ruins” what He had set out to do on the first detour; yet He remains calm and just switches perspective and intent immediately.

What Jill points out is that Jesus’ ministry was to whoever was in front of Him at that moment. That He laid things aside and made Himself available to that person who needed Him in that moment and He served with full attention and heart. And then later He would pick up and retreat to an isolated area to pray and be alone. He didn’t neglect finding time to refill His fuel tank but He also chose to embrace each interruption as an opportunity to connect, minister, and disciple.

This changes everything. It doesn’t cause the list of to do’s to just disappear or other matters to become less important; but rarely are the items on the list as important as the interruption. Even the interruption of “Momma, watch this!” for the 50th time in the last hour, is the opportunity to minister to them that you desire to see them accomplish something. It reinforces that they are important to you. Instills confidence in them and a sense of value from you. The endless questions and the continual groans of “I’m hungry” are such a trite interruption that in the moment can be tempting to be annoying, inconvenient, and frustrating, but in reality is another opportunity to minister to where they are, what they need reassurance of, and disciple them in the expression of those ever bubbling emotions.

Am I still tempted to groan and sigh that I am once again trying to pee with a child sitting on my lap…absolutely! But I also am so much more highly aware of the opportunities in front of me as my agenda becomes interrupted by ministry moments.

So this is where I find the evidence of the physical energy spent in my day. It’s reflected in the ministry moments that required the laundry to once again remain in the basket by the dining table and the toothpaste gunk to be left on the sink. The incomplete tasks are the documentation of the opportunities I accepted to minister to the ones right in front of me. These are the memory books filled with the trajectory of life long love, trust, and relationship. And when I view my mornings as opportunities knocking at my bedroom door, then when I reach for my bed at night, I feel the presence of peace and contentment for a day well spent.

Resources:

Real Moms…Real Jesus by Jill Savage