Interruptions

In the devotional I read this morning, Adam Hamilton points to Simon of Cyrene as an example of a person whose life was forever changed by an interruption.  He was an unconnected bystander, watching a criminal walking to his execution when a Roman soldier grabbed him by chance, and forced him to carry the crossbeam of Christ's cross.  He became a follower of Christ, well known enough by the church in Rome to be recognized in Mark's gospel by name.

I'm grateful there are people who make time in their lives for interruptions.  I am very often an interrupter.  I often walk up to the people in our office and start asking them a question or sharing information that I have.  I'm grateful they listen, and I hope I am open to them doing the same.  I think it changes us from people working together into a team.

Being open to interruptions is harder to do than being the interrupter.  I especially notice this when I am very busy.  I'm serving as the media/tech person on an upcoming Walk to Emmaus.  As I'm rushing around during a team meeting, trying to make sure everything I need to get done gets done, I am often interrupted.  Other team members need to ask me a question or give me a file.  I want to say, "Wait a while; I need to get this done," but I don't.  I intentionally try to say to myself, "Listen.  Focus.  This is the ministry you are doing."  I find doing this puts the task I was trying to get done into the background and calms me enough from my frantic pace to listen.  I look at the person, listen to their words, and make them the important item for the moment.  I think that's one of the hardest parts of doing the tech job on the walk - shoving aside the technology to focus on the person.  I don't know i what I am doing is transformational to anyone else, but it is to me and the job I am doing.

Interruptions.  It's ministry.  Do you find it so, too?

(By the way, I'm hotel internet for a couple of days.  I'm not sure if I can upload images with any speed or not)