It was an unexpected gift.

It was a Thursday afternoon at 3pm, and there I sat on my back porch –  locked out of my house, with no shoes or car keys, and a to-do list full of unchecked boxes. I kept thinking to myself, I can’t believe this is happening the day before I’m leaving town.

Let’s back up though…

Two hours earlier, I received a phone call from a friend back home. This person was on my heart for a week, and when he called, I knew I should answer. So, I picked up the phone and walked outside. What I thought would be a quick phone catch-up, turned into a two hour conversation about faith and ministry. Those ninety minutes brought me encouragement, confidence and a new passion for my calling.

It was worth every minute.

After our call, I was completely filled with the joy and affirmation of Jesus. I walked towards the door ready to get work done but to my surprise, it was locked. I stood on my back porch, without shoes or a key. My roommate would not be home until the evening, and that meant I’d be spending a few hours outside. So, I decided to call my friend Carley. She brought me to her home, offered me food, water and a drawing pad.

Three hours of interruption shifted my day and my heart.

God interrupted me in my tracks, without enough time to consider what is important. My days success didn’t come in the form of crossing off my to do list. Instead, it was a purposeful reminder of why I do what I do, and an added bonus time to rest with a friend.

It was simple as a phone conversation, a friend, and a drawing pad.

And a whole lot of time. Thank you, Jesus.

Do you ever consider how you spend your TIME?

One of my favorite things about Jesus is time management, and by that I mean this – Jesus ALWAYS had time for the one. People pulled, asked and begged for his time. Crowds were waiting on him and yet, he had time for the right person/people at the right time. Jesus had TIME for the things that important for his role in the kingdom.

There are very few people who walk earth and are intentionally not worried about time. I mean, genuinely stop to make time for any human in their tracks. I can think of two, and no, that’s not including myself. These people are beautiful representations of Jesus. Why? They walk through their days with His view of time – always stopping for the things that pull on their hearts, and opportunities to show the love of God. They allow themselves to be interrupted. They create space and room in their lives for God to move. They trust their time is spent well serving Him.

When I think back to that afternoon on the porch, I see how I desperately I need God to interrupt my daily plan. Looking closer at my own life, I often catch myself saying “I don’t have time for that.” Sound familiar?

There have been seasons in my life when TIME, that word alone, ruled my whole world and how I treated people. To be honest, I still struggle with this and will continue to ask for grace. As I’ve matured, and believe me, I have a long way to go, God has softened my heart for the people around me. He started to interrupt my daily plans with people and conversations. And you know what, I had to ASK him to do that. The moment I began to look, my eyes were opened slowly to the amount of moments he gives us to encourage people, listen to people, love people well.

I believe we can love people well when we honor them with our time. The number of minutes doesn’t necessarily matter, but a present heart and encouraging spirit can change people. For those of you who are sitting in a stressful or demanding season, my encouragement is to first breathe and go easy on yourself. Then ask God to shape your view of time.

In Mark 1:16-34, Jesus calls out the disciples to follow Him. wonder what our days would look like if we . say – “Jesus, I’m trusting you with my time today. I want to follow you.”

My hope is that you are encouraged to surrender your schedules, plans, expectations and commitments surrounding time, and allow God to transform your view of what you have time for. That afternoon on my back porch was a gift.

Here’s what I learned from that afternoon on the back porch:

1. Our time is not our own. It’s God’s time. We are his disciples, so are you going to make the most of His time during your day?

1. Our time is not about the minutes. Time is most impactful when our minds are present – whether that’s five minutes or five months. Don’t focus on the minutes. Be present.
2. Our lives should allow for interruptions.  Ask God to interrupt you every day and He will surprise you.