Reacting to Life's Interruptions

When I read today’s Gospel (Mark 6:53-56) about how needy people follow Jesus wherever He goes, I often find myself nodding in recognition. I know how that feels, Jesus.

It happens before school, when I’m at deep at work in my quiet classroom and a student enters with a pressing need. It happens at home, when I’m trying to write or grade and my kids interrupt me for help with their math homework. Even escaping to a nearby café means interruptions, like the person who asks me to watch their laptop while they use the bathroom.

It’s hard to handle these moments graciously. When you’re in the zone of some activity or project, it’s a wrench to be unceremoniously pulled out of it by another person’s needs.

But, as many wise people have observed, these interruptions aren’t a break from life; these interruptions ARE life. They are not pulling me away from my work; they ARE my work. As a teacher, mom, wife, neighbor, these moments are the vocation itself. Each interruption is an opportunity to respond as God would.

And while I tend to identify with Jesus in this Gospel, in reality, I’m more like the needy people hounding Him. I interrupt my husband’s work with a question about why my computer won’t work; my supervisor spends his whole lunch period strategizing with me on how to handle a thorny classroom situation; I call the doctor’s office multiple times because I really need that test result now. I’m as needy as anyone else. Funny how I forget that.

These interruptions aren’t a break from life; these interruptions ARE life. // Ginny Kubitz MoyerClick to tweet

Pray with us today: may I always be grateful for those who do the Jesus thing, who patiently put aside their own work to deal with my crises. May I have the grace and love—and the will—to do the same.

Ginny Kubitz Moyer is a mother, high school English teacher, and BBC period drama junkie. She is the author of three books, including Taste and See: Experiencing the Goodness of God with Our Five Senses and Random MOMents of Grace: Experiencing God in the Adventures of Motherhood. Ginny lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two boys, and about thirty thousand Legos. She is the author of our Blessed Conversations: The Seven Sacraments found here. You can find out more about her here.