Dear First Pres,
We had a powerful Men’s Conference this last weekend. Pastor Ryan Kenny, in cooperation with our Men’s Leadership Board (so thankful for these guys), did a wonderful job of setting up space for us to consider our awareness, or lack thereof, of how God is at work around us. In particular, Pastor Ryan called attention to this quote from C.S. Lewis regarding our lives interrupted.
“The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own' or one's 'real' life. The truth is of course that what one calls interruptions are precisely one's real life - the life God is sending one day by day; what one calls one's real life is a phantom of one's imagination.” ― C.S. Lewis, Letters of C. S. Lewis
It’s a bit cliché, but as I was boarding the flight home from England a few weeks back, I was excited about an empty middle seat between me and the woman, about my age. I had nothing against her, but I was excited for some extra space and the freedom to dive in on some reading, resting and planning for the week ahead. As the airplane doors closed and the flight attendant indicated that all passengers had boarded. I thought, “Yes!” But since most rows were full around us, I quietly commented to the woman getting settled in the window seat, “Looks like we’ll have a little extra space.” I expected a quick nod or smile or “sounds nice.” But that’s not what I got.
Instead, my comment started an unexpected conversation. One that lasted the first two hours of the flight and lingered, off and on, for the rest. What?! Well, before I mentioned anything about my job (which will usually either shut a conversation down or open it up), Claudia mentioned that she was a widow. Her husband had died of brain cancer some four or five years before. As she shared about her husband, I was having an internal conversation with the Holy Spirit. My plan was to (you remember) read, rest and plan for the week ahead. But when she began to go beyond the typical airplane passenger small talk, I felt like I heard the Lord say, “So, Jeremy, will you take the opportunity I just opened for you, or will you proceed with your own plan?”
By God’s grace, I said a quick silent prayer and I simply asked, “Are you a person of faith?” Once again, instead of that being a question that shut the conversation down, it did exactly the opposite. Soon, I was sharing about the presence of God in grief and the grace of God in Jesus. At one point she asked, “Can you tell me more about the grace of God you’re talking about?” “Yes, Claudia, I’m so glad you asked.” Claudia was on a journey already with the Lord. She wasn’t a believer, but she was already exploring faith and had developed a relationship, through her husband’s death, with a pastor in her community. I simply got to be part of encouraging her along in that journey.
Now, was that an interruption from my “real life” or was it the real life that God intended for me that day? I tend to think it was the latter.
I encourage you to take a little time to scroll back up and review the quote from C.S. Lewis. After you read it through a few times, prayerfully ask this question, “Lord, what is it you want me to know today?” Then, take a few quiet moments to listen. If you do that, even if it feels like an interruption to your plans for the next few minutes, I believe it’ll be well worth it. If something comes to mind from the Lord, give Him thanks and ask Him to help you believe it.
Blessings,
Jeremy
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