My friend called recently with this greeting: “Happy Uneventful Thursday!” Maybe I felt a little like her because I laughed, offered my thanks, and a return of the same greeting. My friend went on to tell me all the things that happened each day of that week that were unplanned, sudden, day-interrupting, day-disrupting events. My friend lives with her spouse and her mother-in-law and a dog. Her mother-in-law has health concerns; and my friend and her spouse did not want the dog, but are graciously getting used to the demands and disruptions (and the benefits) of the dog. My friend is currently changing professions, so she is working part-time and going to school. Her whole life has changed and any little bit of schedule helps her to make it through the I-don’t-know-what-is-going-to-happen-today life that she leads. My friend is very patient and flexible, but the stress of changing plans and constantly pivoting to handle the next unexpected thing can weigh her down, as it can with everyone. So that Thursday, at the beginning of the day, she greeted the day with a small hope and gentle expectation for an uneventful day.

We both laughed and talked about what scripture this might go with (because that’s what preacher types do). She came up with her own Ecclesiastes scripture: “There is a time for plenty of things to interrupt your day, and a time for uneventful Thursday.”

I know we are not the only people who experience days, weeks, months where all kinds of unexpected events pop-up to threaten a careful balance of time, energy, and sanity. We all live in a carefully balanced and life of home, family, work, schedules, health. When one or sometimes all of those things get off balance, we become shaky, tired, cranky, tearful — WE ALL NEED SOME STABILITY!

I can be moving along well, making my lists and checking things off as tasks are completed, feeling like I can make it to the end of the week, accomplishing all my goals. Then something unexpected happens and all events and plans must be re-shuffled, re-worked, re-thought. When that happens, it is time for triage. Some tasks are delayed until later. And then there are the days you wake up, when you have re-ordered and re-shuffled all week long and you simply need this day to be what is planned. Your brain and your body are tired, your nerves are frazzled, you have used all the extra energy you can muster to re-work your previous days and weeks. You simply need this day to go as planned, to even give you an uneventful Thursday.

And while I have leaned heavily on the uneventful Thursday wish, I must also acknowledge interruptions. Sometimes our interruptions are a nuisance, and sometimes they are a gift. Interruptions, at the minimum, teach us to be more flexible, to greet the unexpected with grace and a smile. One of my best mentors always taught that the interruptions can be where your most important work is. In these cases, it is best to relax your schedule (when that is possible) and listen to the person in front of you or handle that interruption as best you can. Busy days and interruptions can also charge us up, keep us on our toes, help us to not get stuck in a routine, become bored with our list of tasks or our schedule and life. I hope you might find what you need today: scheduled, unplanned or even uneventful. “There is a time for plenty of things to interrupt your day, and a time for uneventful Thursday.”

— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. Reverend Kelly Volk is the pastor at Washington Reformation United Church of Christ.