As I sit on my deck in the early morning I am fully aware that I am embraced in the love of God. The sun is shining, the sky has been painted blue, the birds are chirping and there is a very slight gentle breeze. I hear the whoosh of cars driving by knowing people are out and about living their yes to God, just as I am. How they live it may be different than what I am doing, but we are all living out our yes minute by minute.
Each moment that approaches us is an unpredicted moment. We can’t know what each one will bring. We cannot know for certain how any given day will look like with 100% accuracy. We make our plans, our neighbors make theirs and so does God so surprises and intersections happen. Sometimes our plans are interrupted just for a moment such as the times when the passerby says hello and breaks our train of thought and other times we are interrupted for a greater length of time because of a phone call or the unexpected guest. Some unexpected moments completely change our lives due to things such as marriage proposals, pregnancy tests, the loss of a job, a health prognosis, etc.
Whether the moment that changes our path is minor or major, there is one thing that is constant. God is there and He loves us dearly.
Each interruption holds a hidden treasure because each interruption is an invitation to find God’s love and return it to both Him and neighbor. Each one gives us the opportunity to practice the virtues of faith, hope, and love and it is in those gifts that we are offered the opportunity to deepen our Union with God.
PRACTICING FAITH IN THE UNEXPECTED
We practice our faith by knowing God is there with us even if we can’t see Him. Jesus, said, “I will be with you always, to the end of the age.” Matt 28:20.
We can easily forget this truth in the little interruptions. Without even thinking about it, we can get annoyed when we are in the middle of something and find our plans are even just slightly changed. We focus on self and forget that for some reason, God needs our attention to shift so that we may love Him through our neighbor.
In larger, happy interruptions, such as the marriage proposal, we can be so excited that we forget to include God, who is the cause of our joy. We easily love the one we see, but neglect the invitation to love God.
Some interruptions are devastating and can be very scary, but we never carry our crosses alone. Just as Jesus carried His cross on His back so that He could clearly see all the love that was around Him, we too must carry ours on our back so we can clearly see God, who is love, surrounding us. Our faith will show us that while bad things may happen, we know all things work together for the good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose (ROM 8:28). We may not know what will come out of any given thing, but with faith and hope we know all will be well.
PRACTICING HOPE IN THE UNEXPECTED
We must hold onto that hope because hope never disappoints (ROM 5:4-5). When we are interrupted by good things, hope in God can make them even better. When we hope in God during the difficult times, we know He will take care of us.
God is bigger than any statistic or diagnosis. He alone can change what we see as the odds being stacked against us. It doesn’t matter what has happened in the past for us or others. It doesn’t matter if the situation is the same or different. God is infinite and we cannot box Him in by expecting Him to do the same thing He did once before. Our journeys are all different. Our adventures are our own.
Once before I talked about the annunciation moments. When we think of the annunciation, we often think of all the positive aspects of it and we forget that a young girl was just told she was handed a reason to be stoned to death and she had no proof to counter such an accusation. Through it all, she found joy through her faith in knowing God was with her. Her hope lied in trusting that all would be well. God would carry the burden with her so she could focus on her baby and Elizabeth. He would protect her and make certain all would be well. This was her hope and she knew hope never disappoints . Her faith and hope freed her from having to worry and enabled her to love others and experience the love which was all around her.
Even in something as bad as certain death, which we all must encounter one day, God is our hope and Heaven our destiny where we will be immersed in the center of love for all eternity.
PRACTICING LOVE IN THE UNEXPECTED
Meanwhile, in all times we can practice love. Interruptions can be seen as simple as God saying hi, as difficult calls to look to Him for strength and everything in between. No matter what the circumstance, they are always a call to love Him and since so many interruptions come our way through others, they give us an opportunity to love our neighbor and love is a powerful prayer.
When we love, we are in union with God because God is love (1John 4:16). When we love, we are experiencing a piece of Heaven right here on Earth.
IN SUMMARY
With faith, hope and love, we are more capable of being at peace so we can experience God. It is in that peaceful union that we are a far more effective prayer with our very lives than we would be if we were doubting, stressing and feeling despair that ultimately make it hard to love.
Living in the peace of practicing faith, hope and love is the goal. It may take a lifetime to achieve, but when we put our faith, hope and love in God, we can grow in these virtues and the union they bring.
Each interruption, good, bad or otherwise, is an invitation to love as we grow in faith and hope. When we fall, and we will, just having the hope and knowledge that God will not disappoint us and having the faith that as His children we will daily grow even if we can’t measure any growth, can make our hearts fill up with love and joy so we can stand once again. Faith that we are children of the Father and hope in Him, a hope that doesn’t disappoint, reassures us of this so even our falls are reasons to rejoice. Why? Because our faith and hope are in God and God is love!
PRAYERFUL REFLECTIONS
Meditate prayerfully on each area above that is bolded. Talk to God about your reflections.
Are there joyful interruptions that you have failed to make God a part of? Can you correct that now? Pray for the grace to do just that.
Are there bigger interruptions in your life that could use the peace that can come from living them out with the heart of faith, hope and love? Can you try and stress less about them and practice these virtues more? Pray for the grace to do so.
In the evening reflect on how you handled the small interruptions during the day. Have you ever considered that the better you handle the smaller interruptions, the easier it will be to handle larger ones when they come? Pray to handle the small interruptions with a heart opened to love.
Can you get into the practice of pausing for a brief moment to ask yourself where the invitation to love is in the interruptions life brings? Find the love and find God.
Can you rejoice when you fall knowing you are a child whose hope is in a Father who loves you?