Those Pesky Interruptions

It’s been a very busy month.

We restarted the Monday night Bible study after Labor Day and added a second Bible study in Bowie on Tuesday nights. I’m teaching both groups the gospel of Luke, which takes quite a bit of time to prepare each week. Steve and I have also been team teaching through the book of Habakkuk on Sunday mornings this month, again a huge time commitment. I also agreed to do to two messages at my old school, one for staff devotions and one for a Lower School Chapel. There’s one more commitment: a self-esteem class for a new non-profit in Baltimore called Drink at the Well.

That’s a lot of teaching. And a lot of time preparing to teach.

In the meantime, my agent is waiting patiently for my next book proposal to submit to my publisher. I am this close. But I need time to work on it. A difficult commodity to come by these days.

I was complaining to the Lord this morning as Sasha and I walked. And wondering: have I overcommitted? No, I reasoned, everything I am doing in September has value, and God is using it to draw people closer to Him. I prayed over each thing before committing and felt they were opportunities from Him. So why were they now such an obstacle in what I was really supposed to be doing: writing my next book?

As we walked through this beautiful fall morning, the Lord drew my mind back to my life’s journey with Him; how every experience He has supplied brought me to the place I am in today. Camp work, Sunday school teaching, Bible study leading, Christian school teaching, mentoring other women, sitting under great teaching, seminary, church leadership opportunities… the list goes on and on. None of these were momentous events, but all had a part in God’s preparing me for His eventual purpose. He didn’t waste a minute.

We never lose the need to grow. We never arrive, not really. Philippians 1:6 promises that God will continue to work on us…until the day of Jesus Christ, when we will at last be complete. So the process is ongoing, and will be until the end.

The things that are currently demanding my time over writing are not interruptions to the journey. They ARE the journey. It’s all a part of The Plan.

So my response to my morning revelation? Give every opportunity the best I’ve got. Stop stressing. God is in control of time. He will accomplish what He plans in His framework. I don’t need to frantically worry over what’s not getting done. Maybe it’s not a book proposal, but there is a whole lot that is being accomplished. And I won’t be sorry when I look back at how God used these busy days.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6