If I’ve learned anything in my almost 34 years on this planet, it’s that God is in the interruption business. We come up with 6 month, 1 year, and 5 year plans. We get up in the morning and tackle the never ending list of to-dos. We stress about stupid details that ultimately really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Or maybe that’s just me (except for the long term planning part…after a minute of being married to the military I learned that planning past the next one hour could turn out to be a huge waste of time! Or at least if you make plans, you better have plan B, C, D and even E 😉 )
And then God has His way of interrupting our plans. Or maybe we’re the interrupters when we attempt to live life without consulting Him first? Or maybe it’s a delicate mixture of both and that’s why it’s so important to be in constant communication with the One whose ways are higher than ours.
Interruptions come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it’s a text from a friend who really needs to talk – when you’re right in the middle of a productive day. Sometimes it’s the prompting of Holy Spirit to bless a stranger in a store or a homeless person on the street. Sometimes it’s God showing up with a huge ‘road closed ahead’ sign when it’s time for you to take a left turn and head in a different direction in life. I personally experienced that last one at the beginning of this year.
If you know me or have read previous posts, you know that Delight has been a huge part of my life for the past couple of years. God planted those 14-21 year old creative ladies in my heart and used them to shape me into the person I am today. In my head, being part of this awesome ministry was in my 5 year plan. I had the privilege of leading the East Coast retreat last year and plans for a retreat this year were running through my head. I flew to WA for a week in November to participate in the leaders retreat where I connected with more fantastic ladies as we discussed the future and made plans to take the ministry to a whole new level.
Coming into 2015, Pete and I knew we were entering a season to rest and get our ducks in a row. We knew it was time to lay the puzzle pieces of our lives on the table and make sure they fit together perfectly so our time and resources are being used efficiently. As we prayed for wisdom about how to proceed, God made it clear that the Delight puzzle piece was supposed to be removed from the equation.
In the natural, it made absolutely no sense. I had plans that I know God had revealed to me…He said go to WA for the leader’s retreat, even in the midst of a busy year when I was just ready to stay home and sleep…I have spent years building close relationships with these girls and the idea of not being part of their lives in the same way anymore wasn’t something my brain could comprehend. But I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was God saying it was time to step away. It is a very strange thing when your spirit and mind and emotions feel like they’re in different worlds! Not that I’ve ever watched it, but I can understand where the idea for The Twilight Zone originated from! 😉
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” ~ Isaiah 55:8-11
This life isn’t about me. I’m here to be an open vessel, ready to be used by God in whatever way He wants – even when it doesn’t make sense in my human brain and even when it’s not the easiest option.
Thank you Lord for your infinite wisdom and that your ways are higher than mine. Thank you for your incomprehensible peace and new vision when you interrupt ours. You’ve proven yourself to be faithful and I’ll follow where you lead in this adventure of life. Amen.
Have you experienced a scenario where God interrupted your plans? (big or small!) What was it and how did God show Himself to be faithful in your situation? I’d love to hear all about it! Share in the comments below 🙂
Such a great reminder of how things should be
Absolutely! 13 years ago my husband and I had our dream jobs (teaching), two beautiful daughters, summers free to travel in our RV with our kids, and life felt like we were doing the what God wanted. Then my husband got sick with cancer, and he went into remission and then he relapsed and, well, things have never been the same since. It’s a long story, but without each of those trials, we would not be where we are today, nor would we be working where we work or know how to relate to the students that we work with. Staying in daily, close communication with God has definitely been the outcome of our ‘interruption.’
I have had several interruptions, well interruptions to me, but details in His grand plan. Moving to help with a church plant, then leading us to youth pastor I know there will be several more and there have been more than the two listed. I am always amazed at His faithfulness. Just part of walking life by faith.
God totally interrupted me when I thought that I was supposed to go off to a 4-year college and live away from home all that time… and possibly not even come back and live at home after college! Turns out I was not meant to live away from home past my freshman year. I knew this for SURE when I moved back home, and I am so glad that I left when I did. It’s been a huge blessing to be able to live at home, graduate debt-free, and have very little bills and financial responsibilities for so many years. I know it will be short lived! But it was totally a part of God’s plan for Justin and me, that we are sure of… and we’re going to keep taking it one day at a time to know when God wants us to end this season and start the next!