My two littles are 1 & 2.5 years old so they are completely dependent on me for EVERYTHING. They literally cannot do ANYTHING by themselves and sometimes their needs come at the most inopportune times. Or do they?
Recently, my heart and soul were convicted.
While I truly believe being a mom is the greatest gift, responsibility and calling I will ever have, I can sometimes respond at an inappropriately aggressive level to a low-level interruption.
Thank you Holy Spirit for eyes to see.
In those moments, I was craving control, comfort and ease. Interruptions were disruptions to MY schedule and plan. I wanted to rule the day and rule my little world. I wanted to be like God.
Someone once said, “Interruptions reveal who you truly are.” Yikes!
In God’s kindness, he brought me to Luke 10:30-35. It’s one of the greatest and most familiar parables that transcends all backgrounds and everyone knows it. It’s the story of the Good Samaritan.
Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii[a] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
To understand the true weight of the story, we have to understand the context and key points:
- 1. The priests and Levites were the Jewish religious leaders of their time. The nature of their titles and office deemed them the perfect people to be merciful and provide comfort and help. They didn’t.
- 2. Clearly, the Samaritan was going somewhere. He had things to do and places to be.
- 3. Samaritans and Jews DESPISED each other both racially and religiously. This man bloodied on the side of the road wasn’t just an opposer, he was an enemy. If anyone were to pass by his beaten body on the road, the Samaritan had good reason to
- 4. The Samaritan chose to physically touch the Jew’s bloody body. He was willing to get messy. In this time period, if you came in contact with blood, you were considered unclean.
- 5. The Samaritan used his own oil to soothe the man’s wounds and wine to disinfect them. Both oil and wine were very valuable commodities.
- 6. The Samaritan man picked the Jew up and carried him in his arms, placing him on his own animal. If you look back at vs. 30, it says “the robbers stripped him of his clothing.” The Jew was naked AND bloody! Can you imagine carrying a total stranger in this condition?
- 7. 1 denaraii was worth about a day’s wages, so he gave the innkeeper two days’ worth of his income.
Let’s take a look at more examples of interruptions that set the stage for miracles:
- It took approximately 55-75 years for Noah to build the ark. (That’s one long interruption).
- Mary was betrothed (or engaged) to Joseph when she discovered she was pregnant with the Messiah. (Try explaining that one.)
- Jesus often woke up early to seek solitude with the Lord. Most attempts for quiet time were interrupted. (Does Jesus Get moms or what?!)
- When Jesus tried to nap on the boat, Paul panicked and woke him up.
- While on the way to heal Jairus’ daughter, Jesus was interrupted by the bleeding woman.
- Jesus heals a man’s hand on the Sabbath.
- The paralyzed man who was lowered from a ceiling while Jesus was in the middle of teaching.
- Jesus’s own arrest, trial and crucifixion. The ultimate interruption to the Jews’ hope for who they thought the Messiah should be.
Scripture paints a picture of a love and a compassion that bears another’s pain. It’s a love that moves toward another, nurses wounds, provides, sacrifices and is willing to get messy.
All of these interruptions laid the groundwork for miracles and for the hope and faith that we cling to today. We see in all of these miracles that interruptions were, in fact, the main event.
What would happen if we started to view the interruptions in our day as from the Lord? What if they are the main thing, His assignment?
What if we scheduled less and paused more? What if we learn to expect interruptions and make room for them? What do we need to do to make margin for potential extraordinary moments that could profoundly influence those in our homes and sphere?
God uses the inconveniences and disruptions to shape and form us, not just as mothers, but as women of God. In each interruption, we have the opportunity to choose: Will we trust God in this? Or will we go our own way?
Will we say not just with our mouths but with our actions, "Yes, Lord, I will trust you with my time, my words, my calendar, my comforts, my desires. Use me, Lord