To understand an “interruption” in a planned situation is to admit my short-coming. I tend to fall into my own routine, and many times live with the illusion that I am always in control.
Sometimes an incident occurs that interferes with what I originally planned and gets me angry, but when I calm down, reflect on it and put it into perspective, I realize it is an “interruption” -- a reminder that I am not always in control.
When I was a little girl, I loved sugar cane and often trade away my entire dinner for a piece of sugar cane. So, one night I made the trade with my brother, who brought me a piece of sugar cane the following morning; it was nicely peeled and wrapped in brown paper. Before I went to school that morning, I hid the sugar cane in the flower garden and covered it with dried leaves; most certain it was safe until I returned from school that evening and retrieved it. All day at school, I thought of the sugar cane and as soon as school was dismissed, I raced home ready to eat my sugar cane. Hurriedly, I pulled it out from underneath the leaves and to my shock and utter disappointment my beautiful piece of sugar cane was covered with a multitude of tiny ants that fed on it all day. First, I cried and then became very angry. I cursed the ants and swatted them to death. After all, I hid it under the leaves -- completely out of sight -- no one saw me, so no one knew it was there. But, the ants did -- I just did not think of them.
Unfortunately, I was too young then to understand that was an “interruption.” The ants only interrupted what I thought was carefully planned; it was God’s way of reminding me I was not always in control. As a result of that lack of knowledge, I became angry and blamed the ants, instead of admitting my short-coming. Had I been in total control then, I would have properly secured that piece of sugar cane. By doing so, I probably would have wrapped it tightly in a piece of plastic before hiding it under the leaves, thus preventing the ants from getting to it, and I would have certainly enjoyed eating my juicy piece of sugar cane.
Throughout my life, I have experienced many “interruptions” in planned situations. At times, it is as simple as pouring a glass of water and placing it on the table. Then, reaching over it for something, the glass is knocked down, spilling the water and precious time is spent cleaning it up, when one is one is in a hurry. In this case, being in control would have prevented the accident, and there would not be any cleaning-up to do.
When we think we have things under control, sometimes God has a way of interrupting them for whatever purpose He sees fit. And when that happens, all we have to do is to calm down, put things into perspective, accept reality that we are only humans and certainly are not always in control.
And when a situation is interrupted, alien to what I originally planned, I label it my “Holy Interruption;” a reminder I am not always in control -- only God Is!
Sometimes an incident occurs that interferes with what I originally planned and gets me angry, but when I calm down, reflect on it and put it into perspective, I realize it is an “interruption” -- a reminder that I am not always in control.
When I was a little girl, I loved sugar cane and often trade away my entire dinner for a piece of sugar cane. So, one night I made the trade with my brother, who brought me a piece of sugar cane the following morning; it was nicely peeled and wrapped in brown paper. Before I went to school that morning, I hid the sugar cane in the flower garden and covered it with dried leaves; most certain it was safe until I returned from school that evening and retrieved it. All day at school, I thought of the sugar cane and as soon as school was dismissed, I raced home ready to eat my sugar cane. Hurriedly, I pulled it out from underneath the leaves and to my shock and utter disappointment my beautiful piece of sugar cane was covered with a multitude of tiny ants that fed on it all day. First, I cried and then became very angry. I cursed the ants and swatted them to death. After all, I hid it under the leaves -- completely out of sight -- no one saw me, so no one knew it was there. But, the ants did -- I just did not think of them.
Unfortunately, I was too young then to understand that was an “interruption.” The ants only interrupted what I thought was carefully planned; it was God’s way of reminding me I was not always in control. As a result of that lack of knowledge, I became angry and blamed the ants, instead of admitting my short-coming. Had I been in total control then, I would have properly secured that piece of sugar cane. By doing so, I probably would have wrapped it tightly in a piece of plastic before hiding it under the leaves, thus preventing the ants from getting to it, and I would have certainly enjoyed eating my juicy piece of sugar cane.
Throughout my life, I have experienced many “interruptions” in planned situations. At times, it is as simple as pouring a glass of water and placing it on the table. Then, reaching over it for something, the glass is knocked down, spilling the water and precious time is spent cleaning it up, when one is one is in a hurry. In this case, being in control would have prevented the accident, and there would not be any cleaning-up to do.
When we think we have things under control, sometimes God has a way of interrupting them for whatever purpose He sees fit. And when that happens, all we have to do is to calm down, put things into perspective, accept reality that we are only humans and certainly are not always in control.
And when a situation is interrupted, alien to what I originally planned, I label it my “Holy Interruption;” a reminder I am not always in control -- only God Is!
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