Room For More

by Candace Cortez

Confessions. On my drive to work, I get a text saying my article is due today at noon. I have it on my calendar that it is due this time next week. After getting over my first set of emotions, total annoyance, then denial (it’s not even my week to write this!), I quickly settled into a wonderful sense of panic. How in the world am I going to fit this article into my overly packed morning? I have meetings, I have phone calls, I have emails, and that’s all before 11:30 when I need to bring the birthday treats to my daughter’s school! WHAT?!

Fortunately, the Lord is good.

I was quickly reminded how none of those things are life and death. Sometimes we are given opportunities to rise to the occasion and love someone or serve someone even if it takes away from our own pre-planned agenda. However, if we are so focused on what we are doing or what is so important to us, then we will miss those opportunities for extra.

You may be familiar with the story of the good Samaritan. I always imagine what that man was doing before he became aware of the beaten man. We can observe that this particular Samaritan was at least well off enough to own a donkey. He probably had a job somewhere that gave him the means and reasons to travel. What was he “giving up” in order to love his neighbor?

If our lives are too packed and too important, we may miss the people and opportunities God places in our lives to love like the good Samaritan. If we have no margins for interruptions, then we may pass our community by with a blind eye. We may never position ourselves for the random tugs of the Lord to step out, speak up, stay longer, do more.

For me, this is not easy. I love order, control, and predictability. But that is not always how the Lord decides to work. He loves to work in the passing moments from one “important” task to another. This is why so many of Jesus’ miracles happened while Jesus was on the way to another location. Serving people was before His agenda. Actually, His agenda was to serve people. Therefore, even in travel, when His disciples and friends were in a hurry, Jesus was ok with the interruptions. He made time for the people on the side of the road. He made time for the people who were not on His to do list.

Today, this is literally my first interruption. My prayer for all of us is that we would have a heart for the interruptions. The people in your office who need an extra moment of your time, even if it’s for personal reasons. Your child who is requesting extra cuddles when the dirty dishes or laundry are looming. The person in the grocery store who is walking extra slow in front of you. The pedestrian who decides to jaywalk as slowly as they can in front of you. If we have no room for others, even if they don’t “deserve” it, our lives will be more frustrated and less used by God. 

Let’s make room today. Let’s look for an interruption.