Pardon the Interruption (by Diane Gallagher)

Guest Blogger Wednesday. :)  The kids seemed preoccupied so I snuck into the office to compile my grocery list and meal plan for the week only to be followed by my 1 yr old who did not want me to be sitting at the computer at that moment.  I became frustrated and slumped over to the couch where Elly began to happily play, so I wrote my blog instead.

My husband lazily woke on his second day of vacation to discover that I had a broken ipod that needed fixing (water and electronics are never a good mixL).  He had been planning on getting his motorcycle inspected or taking a walk at the beach but instead he begrudgingly spent the morning at Verizon.

 Two different scenarios but one similar theme:  what we hope to achieve or do in a day is often very different from what we actually do accomplish.  In other words, as I heard about in a recent homily, life is full of interruptions.  The question is, how do we handle them?  Maybe it’s our sleep being interrupted by a sick child or our leisure time interrupted by needy children (aforementioned needs being anything from hunger to peacemaking or help on the potty).  Maybe it’s our meal prep being interrupted by homework demands or housecleaning interrupted by car pool dilemmas.  Many times my intended plans are good and important, but just obviously not what was supposed to happen that day or at that moment.  Man, do I hate that!  When I have a goal in mind, I can get very frustrated when I do not succeed.  I can get downright annoyed at the child or circumstance that became the obstacle. 

That’s why the homily on interruptions struck such a chord with me.  The homilist pointed out how often Jesus’ plans were interrupted.  For example, He thought He was going to the mountain to pray, but instead was approached at least three times, according to one gospel account, and asked to heal someone – a leper, the centurion’s slave, Peter’s mother-in-law (Matthew 8).  Each time, He said “yes” and tended to the need at the moment, laying aside His own plan for the day.  He didn’t whine about it or say “no” because He was planning on praying and preaching that day.  This doesn’t mean He would never say “no” to an interruption if what He was doing at the moment was the priority, but it’s all about knowing when we need to be open to interruptions and allow them to change our course for the day vs. when we need to stay the course we are on.  When a friend calls to do coffee, and I am in the middle of paying my bills, I may need to say “no” to the tempting interruption.  But if that friend is upset and needs to talk, I may need to stay up late that night to get the bills paid.  Knowing the difference is the true challenge.  All I can do is pray my morning offering each day – surrendering my day to God – and then pray that I can follow His subtle or blatant nudging, trusting my gut when there are no obvious signs.  I know I make poor calls sometimes and don’t always distinguish between a necessary or unnecessary interruption, but I at least hope this awareness will help me be a little more patient the next time that anticipated two-hour nap becomes a 15 minute snooze because of a poopy diaper.  My days unfold the way they are supposed to, with just the right crosses and victories necessary for me to get to heaven.  Why fight it?

When God Closes a Door ... (by Diane Gallagher)

Guest Blogger Wednesday :)  When I picked the kids up from school yesterday, one of my children entered the car with a heavy heart because he had not been chosen for something he had applied for.  I, as any dutiful mother, began to share with him about the times I ran for offices in high school and lost or applied for jobs that I did not get.  Looking back on these disappointments, I can see God’s hand at work with such clarity.  When I first moved to Chicago after college, I was frustrated and tired of the job search… I could just not seem to attain employment in an area that matched my qualifications, interests and talents.  I had a great time in the Windy City that year, but I certainly was not making any noble contribution to mankind other than financially supporting the local pubs.  Finally, I realized that I wanted to go into education which meant returning to the world of academia since I did not have a degree in this field.  I came back to my home town and received my teaching certificate and Masters in Education.    It was such a great feeling to finally be doing what I loved … And to be compensated for it!  In hindsight I can see that I had to go through that year of rejection and frustration to help me realize what I really wanted to do.  Again, when my husband and I were first engaged, we thought we wanted to move to Steubenville so he could finish his education.  I was willing to take any stinking job I could get that would put some money on the table, but I was rejected time and again.  This was humbling for me as I felt like a fairly qualified individual with good grades and a decent interview style.  After a third failed attempt at what I thought was a sure thing, I remember looking out of my parents’ kitchen window and seeing a mouse at the bottom of their empty pool (it was spring and they were preparing to fill it).  The mouse was trying to climb up the side to no avail.  I thought to myself…”the poor thing should just turn around and go up the steps that are behind him.  He’s going in the wrong direction!”  Silly as this may sound, God used this moment to open my eyes.  It was like a light bulb went off.  I realized at that very moment that maybe Jim and I were going in the wrong direction … maybe we were not meant to be in Steubenville at all.  I shared my thoughts with Jim and we decided to try a different route.  Within a week, I was sitting at a job interview in Akron and was offered the position soon after.  God had to allow these challenging situations so that we would get on the right path.  It is very hard to see this when we are in the midst of the struggle.  And it does not necessarily make the sting of rejection any easier to take.  I still get teary eyed for my “babies” when they are sad or disappointed even though I know that there is a purpose for everything.  I would rather go through the pain myself than watch my loved ones suffer.  But if we truly believe that heaven is the only goal that really matters, and that our road to heaven is laden with struggles, than we should be comforted on the journey when we encounter obstacles.  I am sure you have all heard the saying “when God closes a door,  He always opens a window” (any Sound of Music lovers out there?)  These closed doors can seem like monumental hurdles to get through if we just stay focused on one direction.  There might be an open window just waiting for us to climb through it, but we can only find that open window if we stop trying to break the door down and start looking in other directions.  

LIVE IT: Let’s take some time to think about our lives and if there is any redirecting we might need to do.

Bags packed and ready to go!!...Are you sure?

  A renowned wise old man needed help delivering an important package to a nearby village. A young man, eager to find favor with one so wise, readily offered his service.  He was so excited to do the bidding of the wise man that he left with an empty backpack before giving the wise man a chance to pack it.

  Realizing his error and fearful of being chastised for his haste, he decided to fill the pack with useful and beautiful items he found along his way.  ""Perhaps he will praise my ingenuity and careful choices," he thought.  First, he picked a bouquet of exquisite, delicate blossoms which bloomed high on a hillside.  He reasoned their difficulty to posses gave them value sure to be appreciated.  Next, he gathered nuts that had fallen from a tree onto a soft, shaded piece of land- certain their innards were fully intact and were therefore fresh and nutritious.  Finally, he was ecstatic to find a perfect golden nugget tucked beneath a rock in the stream.  Quite satisfied with his array of gifts and confident that the wise man would praise his finds, he hurried to the town to bestow his choice bounty upon the needy.
  His arrival was greeted by a bent over, old woman whose gap-toothed smile expressed her excitement and anticipation of the package he was to deliver.  The young man triumphantly held up his backpack with an air of importance and began to withdraw the items one by one.  The woman's smile faded to a look of confusion and mistrust.  "Are you sure this was sent by the wise man from the next town over?" she hesitantly asked.  The young man adamantly pointed to the flowers and described the sheer height he ad been conquered to pick them. He gestured to the fine array of nuts that had been gathered and vowed they were of the finest quality for miles around.  His final attempt to convince this seemingly ungrateful woman was to display the golden nugget in such a way as to let the sun glint off the precious mineral and dazzle the woman into being impressed.  Surely messages of admiration and immense gratitude would filter back to the wise man and thereby reveal his own cleverness.
  By now, the woman's smile had been replaced by an air of disappointment, but she nonetheless motioned for the young man to follow her so that he could deliver the package to the townsman for whom it had been intended.  Slowly following the woman's hobbled gait he finally reached the door of a pitifully small, decrepit dwelling.  His chest puffed with pride as he envisioned the gratitude from these poor people.  He fully intended to let the wise man have all credit believing his own reward would be the sage's praise for representing him with such beauty and riches.  The woman opened the door, revealing a dank and dark single room with a bed in the center.  As the young man's eyes adjusted to the darkness he noticed the  form a frail man lying in the bed lifting a withered hand to beckon his visitor closer.  "Sir," the old woman addressed the young man, "please bend to my husband's ear for he is blind and can not see."  Then she spoke loudly to her husband to describe the blossoms his eyes would never see, the nuts that his long ago lost teeth would never crunch as he could only take in liquid these days.  She held the gold that had excited the young man with it's promise of status and wealth against her husband's gnarled fingers while she feebly described it as a yellow rock hoping her husband would find some joy or understanding in these odd gifts selected by the wise man.  The dying old man drew in, what was evidently, one of his last few breaths in order to acknowledge the gifts his wife had valiantly tried to describe with enthusiasm.
   The old woman bid their guest goodbye with a sad smile as her husband labored to breathe behind her.
 
  The young man journeyed home and his thoughts were a jumble of confusion.  Feeling he had failed his mission miserably he sought the wise man upon his return.  "Please," he implored the wise man, "tell me what you would have sent to this man who could neither see nor eat.  What could have made a difference to this couple?  Was the package supposed to be medicine or perhaps money for a new house?  Why were they disappointed with what I provided? Please, I must know."   The wise man slowly reached into his pocket and held out a simple piece of paper upon which these words were written:

  "Peace is coming- don't lose hope.  You shall be in Paradise soon.  You shall have no more tears, no more pain. You are not alone and you are loved very much."

  The young man thought back to his time with the dying man and his crippled wife and was flooded with embarrassment as he realized how utterly useless his choice of gifts had been.  He was saddened to think he had robbed this needy couple of the comfort they surely desired and would have found is those wise words during their most difficult hour.

  At a loss for words of his own, the young man, who had sought to impress the wise man with his own brand of wisdom, realized his folly... he had chosen gifts to be given in another's name based on his own  perspective and priorities. 

Lord, help us to seek You in the beginning of each new day so that we can receive all You have intended for this day's journey (GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD).  May we humbly seek Your wisdom so we may honestly offer Your gifts instead of our beliefs of what is needed. Dear Creator, You made all- You know all!  Help us to trust Your choice of people we encounter, hardships we are to endure, gifts we are to share.  Thank you for allowing us to be your hands and feet.  Give us courage and strength for our daily journey~ to go where You know souls await hope. ~Amen+