Cricket Talk

Growing Daily

Cricket Talk

Right now, I’m sitting on the couch with my laptop.  It’s getting late.  I’ve been trying to focus on writing a Growing Daily, but a cricket has been chirping outside the window for well over an hour. He might as well be sitting right here on the couch with me.  It’s THAT LOUD.

Somewhere along the line, I found myself Googling how crickets make their sounds... and soon I was scrolling through cricket videos on YouTube. I even played one at full volume just to see if the little guy outside would react.

He didn’t.  Chirrrpp...

Eventually, I gave up trying to ignore him.  And started writing about him.

We tend to think being productive means sticking to our plans and eliminating anything that gets in the way.  But sometimes an interruption becomes an opportunity.

Paul knew something about interrupted plans.  Imprisonment could have brought his ministry to a standstill.  Instead, he wrote letters that would eventually become part of the New Testament.  He said, “Everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News” (Philippians 1:12).

Our interruptions are usually far less significant than Paul’s.  But the principle still applies: God can accomplish something useful through circumstances we might never have chosen.

Maybe the question isn’t always, How do I get rid of this distraction?  Sometimes it’s simply, What does God want me to do with it?


- Ron Reid