I’m (Not) Available Right Now
Every mom knows and accepts this one basic truth: potty time is not private time. On the contrary, it seems like the moment you step in the bathroom and shut the door, someone is going to need you desperately. It’s almost magical, like kids have a spidey sense that tingles when mom puts her butt on the toilet seat. “Mo-o-o-m!” they’ll yell from the far corners of the house, repeating their thousand-decibel call until you’re forced to yell back, “I’M IN THE BATHROOM! GIVE ME A MINUTE!”
For those with littles in the toddler years, I wish I could tell you that it gets better. It doesn’t. Most days, my 14-year-old doesn’t want to talk to me at all, EXCEPT when I go into the bathroom. I’ll go in the bathroom and shut the door, and suddenly he’s got tons to tell me. I’m telling you, the spidey sense is real.
But, I can offer some hope. Recently, to help maintain my sanity, I developed a response to use when I don’t want to carry on a conversation through the bathroom door while peeing.
“I’m not available right now!” I’ll sweetly call through the door. And my super smart kids usually take the hint and hit the road.
It’s a great response, and I’m enjoying the results. So much so that it’s become my go-to reaction when something threatens my comfort or convenience. So much so that I’m afraid it’s becoming my go-to response to God.
Recently in Sunday School, we studied the last half of Acts chapter 9. After Saul/Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, the narrative switches back to focus on Peter. Acts 9:32 tells us that Peter leaves Jerusalem and takes the gospel on the road. He travels to Lydda, a town 30-ish miles from Jerusalem, and finds a small band of believers there. In a matter of days, many unbelievers in this town turn to Jesus after Peter miraculously heals a paralyzed man named Aeneas. Things are going well, and Peter’s little mission trip is wildly successful. It’s not hard to imagine Peter taking a break, smiling and eating with the new converts, enjoying the fellowship and hospitality of the Lyddan believers.
But then, suddenly, verse 36 switches to Joppa, a coastal town 15ish miles away from Lydda, where a well-loved disciple named Tabitha dies. Acts 9:38 tells us that the believers in Joppa know Peter is nearby in Lydda, so they send messengers to Peter, pleading for him to leave Lydda and hurry to Joppa. And Peter’s response is astonishing.
He says, “I’m not available right now!”
Just kidding! He doesn’t say that.
Acts 9:39 simply says, “Peter got up and went with them.”
Wow. Even though Peter didn’t have all the details, even though he was resting and comfortable in Lydda, even though he probably still had work left to do where he was, even though packing up and traveling at the spur of the moment couldn’t have been convenient, “Peter got up and went with him.”
Peter was available. He was ready to move at a moment’s notice. He held his own agenda and goals loosely, willing to let go if God ordained a change in plans.
Peter wasn’t perfect, but he was available. And when he got to Joppa, God used Peter to raise Tabitha back to life.
It occurs to me that I have become much too comfortable telling others (and God) “I’m not available right now.” How many adventures and miracles have I missed because I’m more focused on my own comfort than on God’s kingdom?
Lord, help me reorient my life around you, not myself. I want to see you at work around me and join you. I’m not available right now.
