This is a blurb from a talk I gave a couple weeks ago that helped us think about the extent to which we go to serve others. If you’re interested in hearing the entire message you can find it here. (Please pardon the less-than-stellar quality of the video.)
Interruptions are a normal occurrence in our lives. I’ve heard them called a lot of things but the one that has stuck with me and the one that helps me the most is when I recognize them as “holy”, holy interruptions. A plan is a beautiful thing. Some days, I tear straight through my to-do list, but then, as the Jewish saying goes, “Man plans, God laughs.” Those days all but invite a holy interruption. And the thing that impedes my advance often turns out to be the point of the day. When something is holy it is sacred, it is set apart. What if we reconsidered how we live with those moments when someone stops by unexpectedly? I mean they didn’t text, they just showed up! When you get stuck in traffic, breathe deeply, take a moment – what is this for? Breathe deeply – redeem the moments we have. What if that person at the grocery that you accidentally bumped with your shopping cart really just needed you to look them in the eyes and express value to them. Because maybe, just maybe, they just came from a situation where they’d been berated and abused with a verbal onslaught (or worse) that cut them down to size, and now you bumped them with your cart and they’re about to lash out at you. But you, you look at them with apology, you tell them they are “worth it”, you make a decision to engage the moment and turn an otherwise awkward moment into a “holy interruption”. A moment to put the towel around your waist and reach down to serve, to wash the feet of the other. Interruptions. They can either derail us or suddenly give us clarity that would otherwise escape us.
The writer I reference that is living on the wrong / right side of the tracks can be found here.
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