When someone’s Instant Messenger status says something like “Very busy,” or they are otherwise actively avoiding interruptions, I am always sorely tempted to bother them. I never do, but it’s always a struggle not to be “that guy.”

I’ve been on the receiving end of that kind of interruption many times, though. When things get really hairy at work, I will occasionally “hide out” in an obscure part of the office, or I’ll claim the conference room as a workspace (Dwight Schrute style) and close the door. Invariably, someone will poke their head in, say something like, “Caught ya!”, and proceed to talk for 5 minutes without regard to my visible sweat or one-word responses.

Karianne has read a couple of books by Elisabeth Elliot, including one called Keep a Quiet Heart, in which she talks about interruptions from a very different perspective.  I don’t have the book handy to quote from, but I found this synopsis:

Elisabeth Elliot has a book called “Keep a Quiet Heart” in which she often refers to the Christian’s misuse of their time. She relates it to her own life in several places where she says she’ll have been working on a book (she was once a full-time author of books and other christian resources) or even spending time with the Lord for the day and her two most sacred activities would be interrupted by a phone call or a visitor or a request by her husband. She says in the book on several occasions that while her first reaction to those interruptions was irritation and bother, she has come to realize that those interruptions were often God’s immediate answer to a prayer, what she had just been reading in the Word, or a point she was trying to make in the book. When she stepped back and looked at the situation, she could find that it was not an interruption at all, but a divine appointment that was meant to back up what she had been working on or meditating on at that very hour or day. After that realization dawned on her, she began to practice accepting all unexpected interruptions as divine appointments and it totally changed her perspective, her manner, and her ability to be flexible.

I don’t agree completely with her (sometimes an interruption is just an interruption), but it’s certainly a more charitable way of treating the interrupter!