“God interrupt whatever we are doing so that we can join You in what You’re doing”

― Francis Chan

Recently I spent several days writing papers for the ordination process in the United Methodist Church.  Included in these papers are case studies, sermons, autobiographical materials, a bible study and a “doctrinal exam.”   I cranked out everything except the doctrinal exam, leaving it (the most difficult thing) to the last.

I, being the consummate procrastinator, had to chuckle at the first question in the exam, “Describe your personal experience of God…”  My response started off with, “If I were to describe my personal experience of God in one word, it would be ‘interrupting’.”  And then I got up to start a load of laundry.

It turns out that I am the one who is ‘interrupting’ what needs to be done.  Work seems to interrupt work, no matter what is going on in life, and the key for me is to pay attention to the interruptions – when they happen and why they happen.  There is a phrase in computer systems programming, “interrupt driven” that allows for something of a higher importance to interrupt whatever the computer is processing.

In life, as in computing, the key is recognizing what is of higher importance.  In computing, it can be something major, like an exceptional condition or a special instruction, or it can be something seemingly trivial, like a mouse click.   Translating that to life, how do I program my personal “interrupt handler” to recognize what is important?   I walked into Fellowship Hall yesterday and interrupted the pre-schoolers riding of Big Wheels and trikes and scooters.  Talk about special instructions, I got hugs and heard stories of baby brothers and sisters and why a finger required a Band-Aid.

It was truly an exceptional condition and absolutely among the highest priority interruptions.