Has It Happened to You?

Interruptions can be so irritating.
The other day I went to a website expecting to quickly obtain some information, and update my social networking page and without warning my computer screen froze. Not because my system was too slow or about to crash, nor was it because my computer has a virus. It is because some company decided that I'd still want to do business with them after they had held me hostage for 30 seconds to watch their commercial. I find it interesting that no matter how consumers try to escape commercials, ad agencies still insist on horning their way in on time we have no intention of giving them.

Although I've never used Netflix, I can tell you without reservation that I'm less inclined to ever consider it now. I was thoroughly upset that there wasn't a close button offering me the option to close the commercial before it ran completely. But then I got to thinking, life is that way at times.

Not long ago I had an unexpected health crisis. Before I knew it, I was in the hospital. After they discharged me it took several days before I felt like myself again. My life was on hold for over a week and I didn't like it at all. Have you ever had any life experiences that caused you to feel like you were being held hostage without an option?

There's no way around it. Unexpected crises, sudden occurrences, interruptions or any other unforeseen activities are simply a part of life. It's at those times when changing the circumstances is not an option, that we must decide what attitude we will have as we navigate through them. I must confess that my being anxious and annoyed about this interruption in my daily routine was a flashing caution light on the dashboard of my life. It pointed out that I live a more self-focused life than I had believed. I know that the world doesn't revolve around me, but sometimes my behavior implies that I think it does. I don't like that. I'm going to change it. What about you? How have you been navigating the interruptions in your life?

Broken Signal?

Have you ever been agitated by a driver who won't let you over into their lane only to have a passenger in your car mention that you don't have your signal on?

I know. Sometimes when you use your turn signal, self-centered people speed up because they just can't bear to see you get in front of them. As long as you weren't in their lane, they were content to let you drive ahead of them. But something about driving in front of them pushes their button so hard they find they can't help pushing the gas pedal with their foot. That's why some of us just don't bother to use our turn signal. It's easier to just change lanes without communicating; then it doesn't matter what the other driver thinks. We're already in the lane we want to get into, going where we want to go.

Have you ever noticed that sometimes communicating with others is just like driving? When we fail to use our turn signals while driving, we fail to give other drivers the information they need to make decisions. Likewise, when we don't communicate with others we hinder the flow of information that could make a difference in the choices they make. We have our own agenda and it doesn't include letting anyone in front of us.

Do you tell others what you need, only to have them speed up the negativity forcing you to stay in an unproductive place? Or have you simply done what you wanted to do to avoid any potential confrontation with others?

Paul challenges us to go beyond what we want and think (Philippians 2:3-5). As for me, I know the last place I think about "considering others better" than me is when I have somewhere to go AND I'm late getting there. L

It's obvious that being self-focused causes us to lose sight of the fact that others also have places they are trying to get to. Who knows, maybe where they are going is more important. If we truly want to think with the mind of Christ and we find ourselves consistently behaving selfishly, this is evidence that our signals are broken.

Have you ever driven a car with a broken turn signal? To communicate with other drivers you have to manually cause the signal to blink. It works similarly when our communication skills are broken. We have to work at it.

When we make the effort to communicate with the mind of Christ, whether others let us in or not, is not our main concern. We know our Father opens doors no one else can shut and He closes doors no one else can open. When we turn on our signal and others speed up to keep us from getting in front of them, it doesn't matter. We know that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. They can speed up all they want. If we humble ourselves, - and refrain from putting our foot on the gas and forcing our way in - we will reap in due season.