I live interrupted.
As a toddler mom, my thoughts turn to boisterous hugs and excited distractions. Even as I sat down to write this morning, Dillon ran over to watch my laptop screen and attempted to blow out the sweet-smelling candle on the table next to me.
Where was I again?
Oh yeah, life interrupted.
I live disheveled and interrupted in my professional life as well. Two years into developing a new service for the company I work for, we started seeing great growth and success. Yet just as the harvest is coming in, Jared and I feel prompted for me to move part-time—devoting more of my daily life to Dillon and writing/speaking. God’s favor covers this decision in obvious ways, so I know we’re following His plan. And I LOVE getting to spend more time with my son on a daily basis. It’s a gift. But I’ve been entrepreneurial and business-minded since childhood, so it’s not the path I expected.
Christine Caine gave the Mother’s Day message at my church last month, and she said something that’s stuck with me.
Every time God calls us to do something we were on our way to do something else. – Christine Caine
God likes to interrupt our plans. And I don’t think that’s because our efforts aren’t worthwhile. I think He calls the faithful.
- Moses comes across the burning bush while he’s out tending to his father-in-law’s sheep. Exodus 3:1–17
- Samuel comes to anoint David and they need to call him in from the fields. 1 Samuel 16
- Jesus calls Simon (Peter), James, and John from their favorite fishing spots to become fishers of men. Matthew 4:18–22
The perfectionist Type A side of me wishes I set out on the final path from the beginning. Embarking on this new motherhood journey, some days it’s all I can do to hold out till naptime. My boardroom skills aren’t helping me here. It’s easy to question if I’ve wasted my time investing in a path that didn’t lead to my final destination. And a few more domestic or child rearing skills sure would come in handy right about now.
Hold up, Dillon is gleefully flipping toddler furniture in the other room, BRB.
Jared and I are still figuring out a new plan for our home life and we’re seeking God’s plan for the next steps in ministry. There’s a lot I don’t know, but here’s what I do. I LOVE this new journey, including working part-time at a job I enjoy and having the time to cuddle with Dillon at the start of the day.
And I know God doesn’t waste anything. I may not see how my excel skills will help my homemaking, but perhaps they will. Or maybe, I spent time in that desk to further someone else’s calling and to cultivate faithfulness of heart for God’s plans in my life.
This current season of my life is far from the last one. Who knows what God has next? If history teaches me anything, it’s that God likes to bring good things in the form of interruptions. So I’m learning to work with diligence, hold things loosely, and embrace the interruptions.
