From my 2015 Journal.
The Plan: The family is gone, so I can work all day on editing Simroots, a magazine for AMKs (Adult Missionary Kids).
The Reality (no kidding!) I counted:
21 phone calls
69 texts
64 emails
5 pieces of mail
1 person at the door
6 visits to my office
0 Simroots
By the end of the day, I felt exhausted!
Visual: I’m on a train with my bags packed, briefcase in hand, ready to move toward my destination. But every few feet, the train jerks to a stop. Sometimes people get on and some get off. Sometimes I step off in frustration from the discomfort of the jerking, but I dare not wander too far for fear I’ll not be on the train when it finally breaks free and starts moving again.
By the end of the day, I haven’t even left the station! What to do? I go inside the train station and find an indoor pool (don’t ask) and try to relax and unwind. But I’m still unnerved by the motion of the train. Being a task-oriented person, I prefer a bullet train—fast track, no station stops. I feel agitated, unsettled, irritated . . . certainly not at peace. If I’d known I was on a defective commuter train, I could have adjusted my expectations and been fine with it.
No, this is not the first time I’ve experienced this.
The related Memory: While desperately in need of a nap when my baby was sleeping, the neighbor boy across the street relentlessly pounded away on something in his front yard. I’d just fall asleep when he’d pound again, jerking me awake. Irritated is too soft a word for what I was feeling!
Instead of praying that the boy would stop (I tried that), I could have prayed for supernatural rest. Instead of getting irritated that I wasn’t getting Simroots done, I could have turned my attention fully to the interruptions. And I could have stepped off the train and asked Jesus to tell me when it was time to get back on. Even if the train leaves without me, I can always catch the next one.
A 2021 Update: I have since learned that I’m more productive if I ask the Lord for direction first about what tasks He wants me to accomplish that day and in what order. When my mind is set, I then ask Him to hold the interruptions, except for those that come from Him. Then once a month I climb aboard a bullet train, a scheduled Karen Day with no interruptions allowed.
How do you feel about interruptions?
In the Pursuit of Peace 
This made me laugh. Today has been one of those days where just as I think I’m about to sit down and do something, I’m sidelined by something else: went to the farm to get out milk with my daughter. Five minutes after getting home, my builder showed up with his crew to check out my laundry for shelving. They leave to grab tools. The second I sit down, the mail carrier has a package for me and wanted to say hello. I get half a flap open and my daughter comes by to pick me up to go to the store. Fifteen minutes later I’m back home, and there are six texts from hubby and brother about my aunt’s funeral on May 1. I call hubby to check in (and open the box he’d sent me) and the builder’s crew walks back in to put up the shelves. So I finally found a few minutes to myself and I’m taking it and a bunch of deep breaths. Some days are like train cars all bumping into each other, but I know the Lord has my timing scheduled, so I’m fine with that. My train has not gone off the tracks, it’s just been a bit crowded. Still, I have nothing more important than being with my family, chatting with friends, and getting my shelving up. You taught me a long time ago that there are rarely emergencies in life. So I’m good, but I had to laugh at this arriving in my inbox at this particular time. God has a great sense of humour.
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