As a mom plans are essential.
Am I right?! We have all the plans! However, as moms, we also have all the interruptions. I mean if our kids aren’t interrupting us (like literally interrupting us lol) we find our plans often halted by sickness, messes, accidents, problems, and crisis.
Our “mom” plans begin at our first pregnancy.
We start with our birth plan. Then our feeding plan. Soon we are planning playdates. We are planning a book club. We meal plan. We create carpool schedules. We work our workout plan. We log our eating plan. We plan our date nights. We schedule our girls nights. We plan to take our vitamins. The plans… they just don’t stop.
However, we all know that all our plans, however good, correct, and well planned out, they get foiled at times. Things go wrong. Problems arise. It seems at times our plans just plain fail. But, what if they are simply interrupted? It is important to plan but maybe it is even more important to plan to be interrupted. If we can create a plan of living an interrupted life then our plans are never actually foiled; they just get paused. We then have the opportunity to creatively alter our plan and continue.
As moms, we are always facing interruptions.
The definition of the word interrupt according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, is “something that temporarily stops an activity or a situation; a time when an activity is stopped.” One of the key components of interruption is that it is temporary. When my plans are interrupted I feel distressed. I feel defeated. At times I have let simple interruptions of life completely derail my plans. I find myself way off track of my intended goals.
This past year I have been learning to embrace all the interruptions because, in reality, they are temporary. If I treat every interruption as a temporary pause in my plan and not an actual dead-end to my plan, I can find peace and even joy in these unexpected detours. If we can plan to be interrupted in life then our spilled cup of coffee, diaper explosion, or the forgotten purse that sets us back in our daily plans can be simply temporary and we can adjust our plan and set feelings of defeat aside and continue like the champ that we are!
Plan to be interrupted.
I have trouble finding balance. Anyone else with me?! I tend to be all or nothing. As I have reflected on this, I realized that many times I let interruptions that should be a temporary stop in my action plan become the end of my plan and intentions. I let myself become discouraged and throw in the towel. If I can shift my perspective to count on interruptions then I won’t respond emotionally and will quickly recover.
Mama, you are stronger than any foiled plan.
Life’s interruptions are not always as simple as changing the diaper explosion and being 10 minutes late to a playgroup. Many of us are experiencing interruptions of great magnitude such as illness, disease, financial crisis, and death. These interruptions are devastating. When we find ourselves in these tragic and frightening pauses of life and all we can do is sit with our interruptions.
As we wait in the unknown pauses, the dark times of loss, we can trust that even these grave interruptions are temporary pauses to the course of our lives. We can eventually discover the next step in the plan of life. You are stronger than you think and are stronger than any foiled plan. Take the interruptions of life no matter how devastating and grow stronger. Learn deep truths during these interruptions and begin to plan in a new and restored way that you never could have before.
Embrace the interrupted life.
Why? Why does life have so many interruptions? I don’t know the answer and honestly don’t think we can find that answer. However, we can choose to embrace these interruptions with grace, trust, and open hands to create the interrupted life that we all live anyways! So, get out your planner and plan to be interrupted today. Even better, ask to be interrupted. Ask that the needs of those around you would be seen by you and that you would pause your plan to help a friend in need, sit with your child and read a book, or call your mother-in-law.
I have found so much peace embracing the interrupted life. When I am open to interruptions I meet new friends, find ways to help those in need, and take better care of myself and those around me. Opening my life to interruptions doesn’t discard my plans, I am still driven to achieve my dreams and goals, but I look forward to the new interruptions I will encounter each day!
