Busy Signals

Jeremiah 7:13 – While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. (NIV)

To accommodate schedules and family obligations of some of our guests, we usually have our Thanksgiving dinner on Friday. (In Canada, Thanksgiving is the first Monday of October.) This works well, especially for the "twenty-somethings" because they usually end up having more than one Thanksgiving dinner, a huge bonus for "starving students".

This year, as well as meeting planes and ferries for arrivals and departures, there was also a bazaar to attend to. By the time the bazaar pack-up time came around on Saturday night, I was rather rushed and perhaps emitting "busy signals".

With every bed and sofa taken, it meant there was company sleeping in my computer room, necessitating in my popping in now and then to check my e-mail from other family members, as well as the "Daily", and because of the time and the weekend, often I'd get a "busy signal".

My morning devotions were done, but perhaps a little faster than usual. My prayers may also have been said a little more hastily than they should have been. Maybe I didn't let the dog stop and sniff as often or as long as she wanted to on our morning walks. And perhaps I didn't think of others as often as I should. Maybe God was calling and He, too, got a "busy signal". It's not a comfortable place to be.

Whether it's a stubborn dog insisting on sniffing every inch of a patch of grass; a friend who needs a ride home when you thought you were out of time; or kids who make other arrangements for rides just in case you're running late, I thank God for the subtle ways in which he tells us to slow down and take time to listen to what He is saying.

Prayer: We ask that you forgive us for those times when you call and we give you a "busy signal", and we thank you Lord, for the ways in which you intervene that we may hear your call. In Your name we pray. Amen.

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