Life Interrupted

This week we saw 740mm of rainfall in 48 hours in Metro Manila, this compared to the 520mm on average we get a month during the rainy season.

To say that a lot of people weren't expecting it is an understatement, there was no typhoon, just the usual monsoon.

As it turned out the usual monsoon proved anything but usual this past week.  Though damage is expected to be less than Ondoy in 2009, this nameless monsoon is reported to have affected 1.2 million people, about 780,000 of which have been displaced from their homes with 242,000 of them in emergency shelters.

What do we do when something unexpected catches us totally off guard and our life is interrupted?
My first instinct is to write this whole week off, forget that it happened and move on.  But something inside me is saying that events like these given their rarity must count for something...other than it being just an interruption.  S#*t happens and life must go on.

But when life gives you circumstances that you didn't see coming, when life is interrupted...what is the best way to react?

Jim Collins says that "it’s not what happens to you, it’s what you do with what happens to you." that counts.

And he defines it as our "Return on Moments" or R.O.M.  What are the learnings from this past week, how can we capitalize on this seemingly negative circumstance and make something good come out of it?

You see life is all about interruptions and what we do during these times are the defining moments or the magic moments in our life.

Numerous stories of selflessness, generosity, determination and heroism can be found in this past week of interruption alone - stuff that you think you see only in the movies become real and Christ shines through.  Wouldn't you agree that despite the interruption, that the people affected are experiencing a high return on moments?

Interruptions can also be personal,  I remember how my son Jacob started throwing up over dinner a couple of months ago and kept throwing up over the course of the next several hours (a couple of them at the emergency room) which ultimately led to him being confined several days in the hospital  with an I.V.  inserted in one of the veins in his hand.

That was probably one of the most terrifying interruptions I've had in my life...but those few days are probably the most memorable times that I've spent with him - laughing, singing together and learning about each other - and I'm happy to report that at least for this particular interruption, my son and I also got a high return on moments.

Enjoying a light moment at the hospital.

Are you going through an interruption in your life right now?  Not exactly where you are expecting to be at this stage of your career or marriage?  Don't let this moment go to waste, think about R.O.M...make it count and get rewarded for it.