Thank you, Bob Goff, for freeing us introverted, solitude-seeking, task-oriented, phone-on-silent members of society to not be as available to others as you are; And Yet, you do not let us off the hook for being held accountable to remember the Power of Presence to those Image Bearers who are right in front of us. After writing the post Life Interrupted early in the pandemic of 2020, I have been flabbergasted at the number of times that the Lord continually challenges me to cultivate a Habit of Growth and Deep Work, specifically to consider the steps that might be necessary for me to reach the goal of Being Interruptable.
Working in higher education and listening to messages from Scripture, it is not uncommon for leaders to share the Latin, Greek, or Hebrew translations or meanings of words—this is known as etymology, the study of the origin of words. Because I’m discovering patterns regarding specific word choices, and these patterns are sometimes critical to narrow down the research on topics (just ask one of our research librarians!), occasionally I will engage in a small investigation about the word. So, for this post, online dictionaries provided these definitions for the word Interruption: “to break apart, break off,” or “a stoppage or hindering of an activity for a time.” It’s this second definition that I desire to embrace on a journey to Being Interruptable (my own concoction from the Latin root interruptus).
What Goff offers in Undistracted, and many other authors shared in this blog will challenge, is the idea that often these interruptions might be more appropriately viewed as reminders or opportunities. Consider Christopher J.H. Wright’s thoughts on Being Interruptable from the Exemplar of Selflessness, “I have a friend who says he wants to write a book on the life of Jesus and call it ‘theology of interruptions.’ Because, he says, so many of the things that Jesus said or did in the Gospel stories happened because somebody interrupted him when he was actually doing something else, or on a journey, or visiting, or eating. Yet Jesus responded to these interruptions not with irritation and dismissal but with kindness and warmth.” Maybe its just me, but my default response is typically the opposite of kindness and warmth. It’s more like heaven help anyone who stands between me and marking off items from my to-do list, often with a little flourish to that checkmark!
Cultivating a flourishing habit to Be Interruptable should resemble Jesus’ response to the bleeding woman who I share about in Encountering Expectation. Wright continues, “Often it’s because I’m too busy and don’t want to be interrupted…I didn’t do anybody any harm, but there was a kindness I could have done, and it got left undone. I was not willing to let myself be interrupted in order to show kindness to someone else. Not very like Jesus.” This concept is the same as what Halter and Smay refer to as sharing life, or Showing Up, “Sharing spontaneous life simply means being with each other in normal day-to-day existence. The key to this is the word spontaneous…The power of sharing our lives with others is that we’re more prepared for spontaneous interaction when God opens a door… In many cases, these events occurred when I didn’t want to be some place or have someone with me. Over time, I have learned that ‘interruptions’ are the very place where I look for God to work. It’s almost as if God creates interruptions as his last attempt to get me out of my own life.”
Perhaps, you are someone who welcomes the interruption to your tasking, but it’s not natural for me, And Yet, I am encouraged to develop a Habit of Resilience, to keep preserving to Be Interruptable. After all, as Halter and Smay share, “You’ll notice the majority of the stories [in the gospels] happen in unplanned, interrupted moments. Most of Jesus’ teaching was done ‘along the way’ or ‘as they were going.’ What this means for us is that we must develop rhythms of sharing life so that these powerful moments can happen.”
Lord, believe it or not, I am asking for your help in Being Interruptable, may you offer me numerous opportunities to look up from my computer, phone, or book, to see the Image Bearers you have placed in my presence, to model what it means to prioritize a person over a task to be accomplished.
References:
Goff, B. (2022). Undistracted: Capture your purpose, rediscover your joy. Thomas Nelson.
Wright, C.J.H. (2017). Cultivating the fruit of the Spirit: Growing in Christlikeness. IVP Books.
Flourishing @ Life 