Dave and I have spent the past seven days up in Seattle. As I’m writing this we’re getting ready to fly home to the Bay Area. We came up here for a conference and also for my aunt & uncle’s 65th wedding anniversary. The first two nights we were here we stayed up north near the conference. Then when it was over we headed into downtown Seattle so we could spend some time in the city.
After we checked into the hotel in downtown Seattle, we walked across the street to a restaurant for dinner. It was really busy there so we had to give them our name, and they gave us a buzzer/pager thing, and we went back across the street to our hotel for a couple minutes.
Our pager buzzed just as we got back to the restaurant so we walked up to the counter. As we handed the hostess the pager, we noticed that another couple was standing right beside us handing her their pager too. When we glanced at them we realized it was a couple from Southern California that we had spent years and years with, living life together as we raised our kids. Great friends from our past, who are still great friends today, but we don’t see them very often since we now live in Northern California.
It was a total surprise to run into Rod & Anita at a restaurant in Seattle – a long ways from either of our homes. And they were even staying in the same hotel! We turned our two “tables for two” into a table for four and we had a great time over the next few days spending some time with them and catching up on life. It was a very fun and welcome interruption to our trip.
Our unexpected encounter with these old friends reminded me of something that God has been teaching Dave & I over the past few years. Well actually, He’s been reminding us. Because we’ve known this concept for a long time, but it’s just in the past few years that we’ve been consciously trying to welcome it into our day-to-day lives, and even pray for it and then watch for it.
It’s a simple concept. If we really want to live our day-to-day lives as followers of Jesus – as His modern day disciples – we need to be looking for and embracing divine interruptions. Moments when something comes along that we hadn’t planned for. Opportunities that God puts in our path where we can be His hands and feet and heart for someone in need. Tasks that weren’t on our radar, but they were on God’s.
Divine interruptions can show up in many different ways. It could involve people you know or total strangers. It could take a few minutes or a couple hours or an entire day… or more! It could cost you money or it could only require a smile and a hug and a listening ear. Or it could simply be an unexpected, encouraging meal with some old friends.
There are a lot of things that are going on in our day-to-day lives. Things that we plan for and schedule. And that’s a good thing. But if your desire is to be a fully devoted disciple of Jesus – to be the hands and feet and heart of Jesus to the world around you – make sure you wake up each morning asking God to show you the divine interruptions that He has planned for you. And then watch for them and embrace them!
By Bernice Gudgel