Donn and I have an empty nest and live rather orderly lives most of the time. But for the past month or two, things have changed.
At the end of July, our youngest granddaughter’s other grandpa (Grandpa Fred) was hospitalized. Since his wife, Grandma Jan, is one-year-old Sarah’s regular sitter, we were needed to help care for Sarah while her parents worked. Then Grandpa Fred became very ill and eventually passed away. It was a difficult time for our daughter-in-law and her mom. During those days, Sarah stayed with us around the clock, and her older brother, Connor, was here for a couple of days. Life was not so orderly.
A little over a week later, we received word that my oldest sister, Lucy, was unresponsive in a hospital in Tennessee. We 
packed and left the next day, Thursday, to make the trip to Chattanooga to be with her and her sons―something we hadn’t anticipated when the week began. Once again our schedule was eliminated without a backward glance. Lucy passed away the following Tuesday as we were on our way back to Pennsylvania.
We unpacked, did laundry, and tried to catch our breath. Even though I knew my life had not been nearly as adversely affected by the happenings of the past month as had the lives of others, I longed for my routine to be restored. When a close friend asked if I was okay, I said, “I just need life to get back to normal.”
Later that day, we learned that Sarah’s Grandma Jan had broken her hand while her husband was hospitalized but hadn’t realized it was broken. She would have surgery on Friday. I remembered what I’d said about needing life to get back to normal and smiled. I also remembered a devotional I’d read recently. The author had told the Lord she needed to stop having so many interruptions in her life. He responded, “Those interruptions are your life.” Wow! I needed that reminder. I’m not suggesting we live our every-day lives willy nilly without boundaries or margins, but simply saying that when God-ordained interruptions come, we will have more peace and more joy if we recognize them as opportunities rather than seeing them as interruptions.
In retrospect, I wouldn’t have missed any of those “interruptions” for anything—time with Sarah, Connor and a friend of his; time with my nephews, some of their families and two of my siblings and their spouses; time to say my goodbyes to my sister—time to be a blessing and to be blessed. To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
Thank you, Father, for the reminder that when interruptions are God-ordained, they are my life. Help me to savor and live fully every minute of every interruption you send. Amen
