Embracing the Interruption

I read this opening sentence in an email(1) recently:

“As we continue living and working in a ‘world interrupted’...”

That expression ‘a world interrupted’ took me back to when I worked in administration at Uniting College. I had a number of responsibilities including the  reception desk. I remember getting frustrated by the interruptions.. phone calls, visitors, emails, …. It was hard to focus on the list of tasks I had before me. It took a while for me to work out that I needed to embrace the interruptions because they were an important part of my work! By treating every interruption as valued as those other things on my list, I became less resentful and found so much joy in my role.

Today as we try to live out our daily lives, we can get frustrated by interruptions… a phone call during dinner, a knock at the door, an email with a new request, and so on..  Each interruption represents a person, a moment, something which in itself is important and to be valued. Without interruptions our lives would be mundane, boring with no change, no progress. We can resent the interruption or we can give it our full attention and be in that moment for just a while.

What can we learn in the interruptions of life? What do they teach us about our life and ourselves? How might they change us?

And now, we find ourselves experiencing a doozy in interruptions, unprecedented in interruptions… the COVID-19 pandemic. Can we apply the same questions? Can we give it our full attention and be in this moment for a while? What is living in a pandemic teaching us about life and ourselves? How might this change us? Can we embrace this interruption?

I invite you to pray with me:
Loving Patient God, we do not naturally enjoy interruptions and we certainly are not enjoying this pandemic! People are falling ill and some are dying, lives are disrupted, jobs have been lost, people are hungry, isolated and anxious.
Yet, you call us to life overflowing.. What does that look like in a pandemic? Help us to give full attention to this strange new world we find ourselves in and to be fully in this moment of time.
Help us to be aware of your presence in all our moments.
Help us to be open to what we can learn about life and ourselves in this time.  Shine a light on those things we need to see.
Help us to be open to whatever change may come out of those new insights. Help us to look forward with hope to whatever those changes will bring. Amen


(1) (Seriously Optimistic Online News May 2020, St Luke's Innovative Resources)

Star Words

Star Words

This year at Athelstone Uniting Church I have introduced Star Words. 
In the church calendar, this is the season of Epiphany. In remembering that night long ago when God used a star to reveal the newborn Christ to the world to the wise men (magi) and to all of us, I gave each person their own star.
Each star has a different word and was randomly selected out of a basket.
I invited everyone to journey with their star all year long - to see where the word moves them in prayer, pushes or pulls them in faith, and how it opens their hearts to God’s call on their lives. I encouraged them to ponder what significance it might have in their life, and how God might be speaking to them through it. I told them to expect to be challenged and stretched and to expect God to lead them to places they never expected through this word!

This isn't an original idea. A growing number of church communities have been doing it for some time. Read what Kristin Stroble says about Star Words here
Over the last two weeks there has been a buzz around our congregation as people have shared their words with one another. Some have quietly smiled to themselves, some have laughed out loud, some have been a little disturbed, some puzzled. The process was designed to be completely random, yet the words in so many cases have been such a good fit. I can't wait to hear how God will work through these words in our community and beyond.
I received a Star Word too. Mine is Thankfulness. My plan is to blog about my star word here as much or as little as I am able this year.

Star Word Entry 1

Today I had an impromptu lunch with a delightful friend who I haven't seen in way too long. We had a lovely conversation and I left with a deep sense of joy and love and being loved. 

Just now, as I reflected on this, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for all the people and those relationships that I have in my life. 

My husband, family, close friends, new friends, old friends, colleagues, mentors and mentorees.. all are a blessing to me in so many different ways. 

Each one brings a smile to my face as I think of shared memories, laughter and tears.

For this I am so Thankful.