9th December
Writing Interrupted
Interruptions! I don’t know about you, but I hate them. It takes me so long to settle down to write, but even in this AI age books don’t write themselves, so settle down I must. Of course, first I must check my email, look up tomorrow’s weather, or quickly note the number of downloads for my latest blog. Only then can I get to work on my latest book.
Except that invariably that’s when there’s a tap on the door and someone apologetically says, “Sorry to interrupt you, but I wonder if you can quickly just…” Quickly just! As if!
So what do you do when interruptions are simply part of your life? You can resent them, and get your blood pressure soaring , or - well, what are the options? More recently I have started to ask, “What if I lean into them? What if I imagine that God is somehow involved in this unwelcome distraction?”
After all, isn’t that what the first Christmas was about? A series of uninvited disruptions. There was Mary, happily dreaming about her upcoming marriage to Joseph, when suddenly an angel announces she is to be the mother of God. Well that was quite some interruption! It was not just life changing. It was history changing. And then there were wise men who spotted the disruption in the heavenly realm and decided it needed to be explored. An exhilarating journey followed. Or think of the shepherds, dozing off while watching their sheep, but suddenly awakened by a celestial choir announcing the birth of a saviour for all.
Next time someone interrupts, I’m going to take a deep breath and ask, “Could this be God?” Sometimes the answer will be yes!
