What Are Our Bells of Holy Interruption?

When interruptions are invitations to holy remembrances

Before we get into this week’s post I wanted to share a couple updates!

1. As I am growing on this writing platform, I want to share what will now be the monthly rhythm of emails—two will be written posts from me, and two will be audio recordings (by myself) of a guided prayer or spiritual exercise. As I welcome new people into this space I wanted to provide a couple more creative offerings.

2. Substack always offers their writers the option to open up for paid subscriptions. I know many writers on this platform offer this to their subscribers, but for me, I hope to always keep what I offer here in this space free of charge. My husband and I already serve in support-based missions work in diaspora ministry, specifically in refugee care. If you ever wanted to support my writing—you could give a one-time or recurring donation to our ministry and that would be a huge blessing.

Now on to the post…

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In the beautiful country of Taiwan, the garbage trucks play music.

When we lived in Taiwan, everyday experiences often became new and interesting learning opportunities—one example is the trash pickup. In America, we have our small trash cans that hold our waste, we haul that waste to larger cans often outside our homes, we put the larger trash cans by the road once a week, and city trucks (or smaller businesses as is my case in the country) rhythmically drive around and collect our trash week after week. We don’t normally give much thought to our trash collection, unless a snow storm delays the collection, or something happens where it continues to stack up and become a nuisance.

The city of Taichung that we lived in holds over 2.8 million people (now that’s a lot of trash). Taiwan is all about convenience, so in the convenience of not having to stop at each home and collect trash, the trash truck plays music—for people themselves to bring their trash to the truck and dump it. It encourages recycling, working together, along with paying attention—a noticing of the garbage truck chime’s call to action.

In America, when you hear fun music coming from a truck driving along the streets we think—ice cream truck! But in Taiwan, the music that often becomes the background song to everyday life, is to collect garbage!

Recently, I was on a call with a friend located on the other side of the world—in my beloved country of Taiwan. While we were talking, even late into the evening in Taiwan, I still heard the bells of the trash truck in the background of our conversation.

I immediately smiled when I heard the chimes. The music instantly stirred my heart, which brought back fond memories and gratefulness for how special Taiwan is to my family.

The chime of bells in our society often hold significance—the beginning of a church service, the remembering of fallen soldiers, the celebration of new life (one hospital I gave birth in chimed bells after every baby was born), the call to prayer, and so much more.

But what about normal, everyday life?

Could our seemingly insignificant, mundane comings and goings hold bells that may be calling us into remembrance and awareness of the holy in front of us?

We often forget in the rhythms of our daily life what bells are ringing, and what they may be calling us to. The bells in our own lives may be drowned out as background noise (as the Taiwan trash truck), and we often turn a deaf ear to what holy moment may be present right in front of us.

As a mom of a handful of young kids, I’m consistently interrupted throughout my day.

• I sit down in the early morning hours for silent prayer time, and within five minutes a child is on my lap.

• I go to eat my meal, and a child spills milk on the table.

• I’m running to the store for a few groceries, and can’t get one sentence out before another question is asked in the short, seven-minute car ride.

• I’m reading to one child and another brings a different book to interrupt with.

• I’m trying to use the bathroom, and I hear footsteps running around my room and, “Mom! Where are you?” echoing about.

Interruptions will happen to all of us, and they’ll look different with our seasons and stages of life. But what if these interruptions were an invitational call to prayer? An opening of our eyes into the present, holiness of God amidst our day.

What if we slowed down just a little bit more in our life to notice the bells of remembrance in our own life. What might they be for us?

• Maybe the lingering smile of a loved one.

• Perhaps the email that interrupts the draft you’re already working on.

• Maybe the door that always keeps opening when we just need a few minutes of peace.

• It could be the surprise bill that was unexpectedly paid.

• Maybe it’s the noticing of your feelings when being cut off on your commute to work.

• It could be the unexpected disappointment of a certain situation.

Interruptions are invitations to notice the holy that is already here, active, and present.

The seemingly annoying or unexpected life-altering interruptions invite us to pause what is going on externally and reflect internally. To ask—

• What feelings rose in me when that happened?

• How was my response a reflection or not a true reflection of my heart?

• What is God feeling towards me?

• What is Jesus inviting me into?

• What is the Holy Spirit leading me to respond in?

Even while writing this post, I was interrupted multiple times by children coming in and just staring at me (wanting to make sure mommy hadn’t gone too far). I was interrupted by my husband coming in and immediately talking to me and looking for something in the closet. My annoyance rose. My eyes just saw the inconvenience as opposed to the invitation. I am human—we all are.

Lord, open our eyes in the moment.

May we see the ordinary as Holy.

May we see the mundane covered in the fingerprints of God.

May we be kind with ourselves when we don’t see.

May we remember your love for us in all.

Amen.

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