interruptions

Can I Tell You About My Sunday?

Ever feel frustrated by the unexpected? Living in another culture presents many opportunities to see God’s hand at work in the odd moments and interruptions to our plans. Julie, a Bible translator, shares her story of a Sunday in her town. I’m sure many of you will identify with her.

–Diane

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Can I tell you about my Sunday? We still can’t get past the idea that a Sunday should be restful. Even among our indigenous friends, there is an understanding that people rest on Sundays, so it’s our most natural day to want to rest. It’s the only day Gerry and I never do translation work. We usually go to church, buy groceries and try to catch our girls on Skype.

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Time-Wise

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by Gayle Francis

I was blessed the other night as I read chapters four and five in Mark’s gospel. One evening Jesus got into a boat with his disciples and headed toward the country of the Gadarenes. On the way there, He calmed a storm at sea and in his anxious disciples. Upon arrival, He was immediately confronted with a demon-possessed man and delivered him. That miracle upset the people so much that Jesus had to turn around and quickly make the return boat trip. There was still no time to rest because a large crowd was waiting for Him. Before He had a chance to stop, he healed the woman with the issue of blood and raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead.

Then I mentally rehearsed my day. First my devotions were interrupted by a phone call from a friend who explained difficulties over which she seems unable to get victory. I had just returned to my quiet time when the phone rang again. The man for whom we had been “dog sitting” let us know he was ready to come get his pet. During the six weeks that we had kept his dog, my young daughter had become attached to the animal and the parting produced tears. The time needed to calm her torn emotions and change her mind-set took the remainder of the morning. Before I realized it, I was involved in the necessary push of preparing lunch. That afternoon was filled with the line-by-line condensing and editing of study material to be translated into the language of a country where there is a famine of available printed scriptural data. Then there was the dental appointment for my fourteen-year-old son to be fitted with braces. Later more time was spent in working on an article for publication. Evening found us attending Bible study and intercessory prayer time at a local assembly.

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Divine Appointment

Need Refreshing?

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Is rest and refreshing wrong?
I hear most of you say, “Of course not!” Yet in practice we sometimes act as though rest and refreshing are sins for PWs.

We arrive on the field full of zeal for the work and buoyed by the sense of our calling. During months of adjusting to the climate, setting up our home, learning the language, and taking on our new responsibilities, the gloss of sacrifice begins to tarnish. Real exhaustion sets in. We feel tired and guilty for it.

We feel guilty if we sleep-in one morning or sneak off for a catnap in the middle of the day. We become irritable, but try with super human determination not to let it slip out. We compare what we are doing to what others seem to accomplish in a day. Depression or condemnation steals our joy.

Sometimes older PWs allow the daily routine or constant interruptions to numb their need for rest. Being so used to doing it all they don’t think anyone should need additional rest. The result is judgment of those needing rest as “weak.”

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Distractions

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Distractions are the topic for this week. As I was thinking about this topic, I saw some different causes of distractions and some possible ways to deal with them.

I am the kind of person who likes to plan out my activities for the day. I used to schedule far too much for any one day and then be frustrated because I wasn’t able to complete my “assignment.” I saw anything that interrupted my schedule as a distraction from my “real” work. It has taken years for me to see that often the distractions are the “real” work for the day.

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