“Mom! Can you come help me with this problem?”
I had literally just sat down from helping with the last problem. Every time I tried to get some of my own work done, one of the boys would call to me from the other room for more help. I felt my patience growing short. I have deadlines. I have projects I am trying to get done. I have studying I’d like to do. But every time I get ready to work or write- “Mom!”
I never , in a million years, thought that I would homeschool my kids. I am not an organized person. I am not a consistent person. I would not say I’m an overly patient person. I would also say that I, myself, didn’t excel in school and math makes me nauseous. But here I am, homeschooling two middle school boys.
Not only am I homeschooling two boys, but you may have noticed I run a ministry as well. I love learning about the Bible, reading it, diving deep into the treasure hunts and bunny-trails of discovery and then writing about all the I have discovered. Interestingly, this process isn’t always conducive to interruptions. The more I tried to find space- the more it felt like my kids encroached. The more my kids encroached- the crabbier I could feel myself getting.
I often find it humorous how God works His greater story into my life. It’s like He sees me trying to do my thing- my timeline, my agenda in my power- and He packages a lesson for me to discover right in the midst of my discovery.
If you’ve known me for any time at all, you would know that I don’t believe in reading the Bible in a year. I don’t judge you for doing it, just know that you are doing it wrong. (If you also know me, you know that I joke a lot.) My take on reading the Bible in a year is that it becomes a task. Just another check mark on our performance report card. I understand that some people just need a structure plan to stick with it: totally fair. However what I know about the writers of the Bible is that they would bury deeper truths within the stories they penned, and if we don’t stop to ask questions and we keep to a reading program, we miss the breath and depth of some of these buried treasures. These interruptions in our reading are more than what they seem. And God ’s treasures are some thing that I do not want to miss.
With the truth of reading the Bible in hand, seeking to have deeper connection with the Bible through interruptions in the story line to stop and dig in- all the sudden the light bulb goes on. If God buries treasure in the interruptions of the Biblical story, perhaps there are also treasures to be found in life’s interruptions.
What would happen if we changed our focus from our timelines, our schedules and our plans plans to embracing being fully present in the interruptions? To eagerly await the move of the Spirit in our regularly scheduled programming?
Would interruptions invite me into impromptu spaces where I can connect with my kids? Can an unplanned trip to the grocery store lead me to encourage a strange who just need a kind word? Would allowing Holy Spirit to loosen my grip on my to do list and schedule help me feel less chaotic and more approachable?
Yes. to. all. these. things.
God is so kind to point out these areas to us because He knows that this is where the richness of relationship and the invitation to experience His kingdom lies. So I am going to lay down my timelines and be present in the moment with my kids, imperfectly. I am going to take that unexpected trip to the store and ask God who He sent me to see and encourage, even though I may start off grumbling. And as I struggle with it, I will keep asking Him to keep changing my heart to embrace these interruptions as the treasures He already knows they can be. It isn’t easy work- but the consequence is missing the partnership work He invites us into.
And God’s treasures are something I do not want to miss.
