I am "Jonah"

I am reading a book to prepare for the Bible study that is coming up. The name of the book that I am reading is "Navigating a Life Interrupted" by Pricilla Shirer. The more I read through this book I am learning I am more and more like Jonah.


Most of us have heard of the story of Jonah sense we were young kids in our Sunday school classes and followed up in children's church. Veggie Tales even made a movie about it. Pricilla uses the story of Jonah to talk about how life's interruptions might just be an divine intervention from God. Interruptions are not all ways bad even the "good" things in life can be an interruption.

Before we found out that we were expecting our first child Mike's sister, Michelle , and her husband Pete were on their second round of invitro.  Just after she found out that it had not worked Mike and I found out we were pregnant of course this was not easy news for them at all and it has not been easy for them to hear the news four other times and it wasn't easy to have to share it with them for the fact that I knew this would cause them pain. See Pete & Michelle tried for 7 years to have children and at that time had gone down all the medical avenues to be able to conceive, when the doctor said, "let's try again" Michelle couldn't emotionally or physically do it anymore. So,  in February, 2000 they started the adoption proceedings and God blessed them with two amazingly talented beautiful kids. I say all of this an share a snippet of their story because this was one of their "interruptions" in life that they had not planned but is a true divine intervention from God. Michelle is an adoption coordinator and has helped many couples to become parents. This isn't the plan that Michelle and Pete had for their lives but it was God's plan! I have been truly blessed to have had a front row seat to what God has done in their lives and there are days and times that it hasn't and wasn't easy but God was always in control


Three years ago was one of my biggest interruptions in my life. Mike and I always wanted three kids and then we prayed and decided we wanted one more child. Right after Cole was born May 2007 Mike went and had things taken care of on his side. Just shy of a year later we found out we were expecting our 5th child. This rocked my world, I couldn't understand why the Lord wanted to give me another child when I knew so many who have struggled having children and at the time a dear friend has just went through another miscarriage why me and not them.  I will tell you this Reid is a divine intervention from God in my life and I can't imagine nor would I EVER want to imagine my life without him. But  the interruptions in our lives is what gives us our story and allows us to minister to other people that we may come in contact with. Sense then there has been plenty of other interruptions in our lives, from Mike going out of town more frequently, unexpected health issues for both of us, but now they are part of our story and who we are.

I have some very dear and close friends who themselves are going through interruptions and some of them are very exciting but at the same time scary. One friend's son just got married, another will be moving and starting a new chapter that the Lord has in store for them, but then I have other friends who their interruptions are not so pretty. Watching each friend go through their interruptions and even allowed to be a part has been a true blessing. Each of them has done nothing but put their faith and trust in the Lord through it all. Granted there are times that it hasn't been easy but they had and have a choice and so do we. We can choose to be like Jonah and run and hide or we can choose to face it straight on and learn from it. 


I share all these stories for this one reason, to show how God works. We are not hear to tell our stories but to tell God's stories, to share what God can do and what God has done.


Here is two examples that Pricilla gives in her book:
1.You are about to run out the door cause you are already 5min late or in my case 15min, the phone rings and its the cable salesman wanting offer the new promotion and add more channels free for 6 months. Your thoughts are you don't have time right now and you are now even more behind and you are aggravated cause you have been interrupted.
2. Same situation, you are running late and just as you are running out the door the phone rings and its a family from the church that wanted to let you know that they wanted give you $200 to help out with finances.


So which one is an interruption?? They both are! We "categorize" and decide what is an interruption to us. If it "benefits" us it really isn't, but if it doesn't then is an interruption.


I am looking forward to going through this study with some awesome ladies and learning what their Nineveh is and their interruptions.