Desperately Seeking Jesus--
Handling Interruptions in a Hectic World
Desperately Seeking Jesus—
Handling Interruptions in a Hectic World
“It’s snowing again! And I heard the weather guy mention freezing rain last night, so I’m not going out to swim OR walk.” My husband burst through the door in frustration, lamenting his lack of exercise.
Unfortunately, his outburst drowned out the voice reading the devotional on my phone.
“What’re you doing?” he asked, shoving aside pillows and plopping onto the bed.
Reluctantly, I sat up fully and pushed pause on my phone.
“I’m trying to get in my devotion time before I get out of bed in the mornings,” I answered, anticipating his reaction.
“Oh! You don’t want to talk to me! I get it!” came the familiar but good-natured response.
“No, it’s not that!” I reassured. “I’ve just trying to seek God first thing before I come downstairs and get distracted by…life.” (Not to mention that I need silence for prayer time, I thought.)
My poor husband, getting the gist, popped up and strode out as quickly as he’d arrived. But my focus vanished. Once again, interruptions prevailed.
Learning Flexibility
Lately, I’ve fought impatience over the constant needs of those who require care in my life. My husband began working from home five years ago this week during Covid, never to return to an office situation. The change gives him flexibility in his work life, which is extremely helpful with the increasing care needs of an elderly family member.
But without an office of tech buddies to share ideas, I’m the one he seeks out for support. Both of us working from home requires adjustments which we are still learning to navigate.
We also have an older family member who suffers from short-term memory loss. So, we field constant phone calls, sometimes only minutes apart. The constant interruptions to help and reassure during this final stage of life make completing tasks much more difficult.
Not to mention our 17 year old beloved cat’s health is failing, as well. She’s eating less, not as content, following me around, meowing. Her vet doesn’t think she’s in pain, but that her organs are failing now with sickness and age. We need to decide when it’s time to put her down. Meanwhile, she requires frequent care and attention as we nurse her along.
“Why don’t you commit to forming a new habit over Lent,” my counselor advised as she listened to my frustration over the constant interruptions at home.
Hence, my re-commitment to devotional time in bed--which (obviously) still gets interrupted! :)
All this leaves me desperate for uninterrupted time with Jesus.
Interruptions Require Fruit
Interruptions in life are bound to happen, whether it’s at work or at home. For me, it’s often these caregiving seasons that require self-sacrifice, time, and patience, all fruits of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22, NIV: “…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
I’ve journeyed through long seasons of caregiving in my life, such as raising children, nursing my father-in-law and mother through Alzheimer’s, then my grandmother through the end of 101 years of life. I’ve come to accept interruptions as part of these unique season. But often our own needs go unattended as the needs of those around us increase.
During intense and busy seasons, it’s easy to miss extended time at Jesus’s feet, unburdening ourselves and listening for him in prayer. Easy to skip Bible reading or devotion time. So easy to feel disconnected from God.
Time with Jesus is vital to filling ourselves up so that we can give back to others. Without the Spirit filling us with his love, wisdom, and peace, frustration and discontentment ris; we may even develop the “resentment flu.”
If you’re in the midst of a difficult work or caregiving season, it can seem like a {long-tiring-sometimes-impossible} uphill trek!
Making Space for Jesus
So. How DO we stay connected to God during such busy seasons?
Well, we do our best. We take on less commitments, drop out of unnecessary events to rest. We throw popcorn prayers upward throughout the day…”Lord, help me with this!” “Lord, what can I say here? Give me the words.” “Father, help!” “Jesus, this is really hard!” When we ask for help, we know He hears us.
But sometimes we STILL come to the end of our day, depleted and spent, droopy from our own efforts without plugging into God’s supernatural power and strength.
WHAT THEN?
I don’t have any rock-solid advice for you, such as “5 Ways to Find Time with God” or “3 Foolproof Methods for Uninterrupted Prayer . . . ”
Instead, I have simple REMINDERS for all of us, myself included:
Prioritize. Seek God first, and make a space/time/rhythm that works for you. We know our days go better when we do this, scheduled or unscheduled! The Nike slogan runs through my head: “Just Do It!”
Assess your schedule to see what needs to stay and what can go for now. Cut back where you can.
Don’t give up on seeking God! When one way doesn’t work, try another because each day is different. Get up earlier, or stay up later. Spending time with God may not look the same each day. It may need to happen as a “running conversation” throughout your day. Ask for God’s help as you seek to find space.
Reframe interruptions as “God-Eruptions!” Accept that they will happen, and trust that God may have a good reason, and even be at work in the interruptions!
Utilize physical outlets both to deal with the frustrations and stress and as prayer or worship time.
Don’t beat yourself up
ifwhen you miss time with God that day! (Yes, even when you fall asleep praying--SOME time with God is better than NO time with God, right?) Rest in his presence with you.Set boundaries. Hang up that “Do Not Disturb” sign on your office, bedroom, bathroom, or closet door, and let others know why. (You may just motivate them to seek God as well!)
Lastly, a good friend mentioned this regarding the importance of finding time for Jesus, and I thought it would be good for all of us to remember:
Time with God is NOT just one more thing to DO, it’s what will get you THROUGH!
(Thanks, Suzy! You can find her here at Suzanne’s Substack. And she’s written a great resource for the Lenten journey as well, called Running to the Empty Tomb if you’d like to check it out!)
And now that I’ve dealt with several interruptions God-Eruptions while writing this, I’m off to help someone who needs me…! :)
WORSHIP TIME!
Is it just me, or do you wake up singing the last song you heard the night before?
(Not that I mind, especially when it’s a worship song! Just goes to show how important it is to think about the things we put into our brains!)
(Thanks for sharing this song, Linda!)
*Photos by Samantha Sophia and Quaritsch Photography on Unsplash
"Time with Jesus is vital to filling ourselves up so that we can give back to others." So true. We have to be selfish with our time in order to be selfless.