A Magnolia's Heart Beats

Lori, at I will take it Lord, All You Have to Give, is our hostess today. Today's topic is about interruptions....oh, how I know that subject well!



I'm late for my visit At the Well this morning because of an interruption. Sickness has delayed me. After a long visit at the doctor's office, spent mostly in the waiting room, I'm finally home. Home Sweet Home.

Interruptions come in so many forms, and I wonder how often we pause to recognize the importance of interruptions in our lives? Interruptions are not always a bad thing, you know.

Some are like speeding tickets - you pay a fine for them but you were wrong to speed in the first place. Some are like stop signs, allowing us to put others before ourselves, and some are like speed bumps, which slow us down. Interruptions are what we make of them, most of the time.

Interruptions can be viewed as opportunities to do God's will. There was an angel that appeared to me a few weeks ago in human form (okay - he wasn't an actual angel, but I believe he was a messenger from God) who interrupted my day in an awesome way. I had just been the object of crude joking among co-workers (embarrassing, humiliating and leaving me asking God how much longer before I could retire), and I had poured my heart out to God asking Him why the world was so coarse. Thirty minutes or so later, The Angel, who is actually a man who I see only in passing in the halls and know enough to speak to him - I had a week long class with him a year or two ago - stopped by my office.

Although he was on his way somewhere else to speak, he stopped and asked me how Ethan was doing. That's my sister's new baby, who has a birth defect in his eye. I told him about the positive doctor's report and he said that it was an awesome praise to God. He is a strong Christian man. He offered up praises right there, and we talked about what God is doing in our lives. I told him about my cousin's wife hearing that she had miscarried at the hospital but later in the week, at the doctor's office, hearing that the heartbeat was loud and strong and she's due in May. He said that when God is in it, no good thing can fail. He asked me for prayer regarding his situation at work, and I was disheartened to find out that he's feeling pretty oppressed and beaten down over there. My heart breaks for him and I feel like a lot of it is the Enemy attacking him through other people,trying to discourage him. I told him I would pray for him, and that when I said I would pray, that meant he could count on me to pray. When he mentioned that he and his wife had been asking God, "You know Michael's heart, why is this happening and what do You have planned for him?" I realized that I had encountered an angel to counteract the negativity of the crudeness I had experienced earlier that morning.

Lori asked the following questions regarding interruptions:

How do you handle interruptions in your days?

It really depends on the interruption. My days are typically spent in an office enviornment. My interruptions come in the form of emails, phone calls, visits from co-workers, meetings, breaks, lunches, and the like. Usually the way I am interrupted has a lot to do with how I handle it. I handle expected interruptions much better, or easier, than spontaneous interruptions. I love to be prepared.

Do you plow right on over them missing opportunities God has placed on your path?

I'd love to give the answer, "No, never!" I can't, though, because it would be untrue. I have learned to see some interruptions as opportunities in recent years, although I'm still learning to work on having a gentle and quiet spirit about some of them. Since September 8, my life has been a series of interruptions, and I have learned to embrace each and every one. The morning of September 8, I finished my At the Well post, it was on Encouraging our Daughters, not realizing that I would be the daughter who was encouraged that day by her father - ALL DAY LONG. Yeah, I shouldn't have yelled. It's the decadron shot and mucinex dm, but it's also for emphasis. That day, my father called me and said he was going to the hospital. I told him simply, "I'll meet you there." I asked no questions, just turned off my computer, called my husband and asked him to come pick me up, and happened to see some co-workers gathered up front chatting. I told them I was on my way to the hospital to see about Daddy and I'd call them. All the things I needed to do were pushed to the back of my mind. My father was most important at that moment. The interruption was seen as a scare - I had a verse in my head and actually lost it - I couldn't remember it at points during the day, but mostly it stayed at the forefront. Long story short, although he could have had a stroke, he encouraged his daughter by telling me that all would be fine, he felt fine and God was faithful. He was. He had a pacemaker put in the next day, and by Wednesday he was home.

Other interruptions followed, interruptions to leave work and check on him, take a few nights here and there when I could have been at home in my normal routine for supper with him, running him to the doctor and grocery store, etc.

A bigger interruption came a few weeks later. On a Thursday, my bonus daughter Kristyn went into premature labor. Instead of carrying on as normal, we seized the opportunity to spend a quiet night with her at the hospital. She was released that Friday. The next Monday morning, again, doing an At the Well post (are you seeing a pattern here - hah hah!!!!) I had just finished typing about Keepers At Home when my young Keeper of Her Own Home went into premature labor again! This time they did not stop it. I had major things at work to do, but none of that mattered. Wrestling with a 13 month old while his mommy prepared to bring Little Brother into the world became my priority. I loved that interruption.

What interruptions frustrate you the most?

Interruptions due to sickness (my own) seem to be the ones that frustrate me the most. I have been interrupted with The Cold. I haven't seen it as an opportnity for anything except denial of seeing my new grandson. Oh, how I miss him! And Baby Nolan. Does he wonder where Nonnie is? I broke down and went to the doctor today, to the tune of $90, plus another $30something for meds. I know it could have been worse. The Cold has actually been diagnosed as The Sinus Infection with a Hint of Bronchitis and Two Ear Infections.

How are you working to overcome that?

Lots of time spent in prayer, reading God's Word - specifically in the Gospels how Jesus responded to interruptions - has helped tremendously. I pray soon to have a gentle and quiet spirit regarding all interruptions in my life, and to see them as opportunities to do God's will.

Please visit Lori, at I will take it Lord, All You Have to Give for more on this subject.

If my thoughts seem jumbled this afternoon, have mercy, ya'll. I'm on a boatload of medicine. I'm sure it says in fine print somewhere on the box, "Do not blog while on this medication."