The day before my website launch, I heard the words, “It’s gone, and there is no way to get that information back.” The computer tech told me he had never seen anything like this before. My computer had crashed, data erased. Every tech in the room had been working to retrieve my precious folders and photos, but the data had vanished. Not even the cloud could help.
They almost needed to fetch a paper bag to keep me breathing. “The launch is tomorrow and all the folders I needed were there, ready to go!” I said, not even trying to hold back tears. He shook his head. He was out of ideas, and I was a sobbing mess. I lost my data that day, which sounds like a sad country song.
The tech told me they would start over with what they could retrieve, but no one was very hopeful. I left my computer and drove home, pulling tissues from the box until it was empty. This was a king-sized pity party, and I finally prayed out loud. “Really, Lord? This had to happen now?” I was on my last tissue when the Lord grabbed my attention and pointed out that this was just data. “You said to trust me in the little and big things. Are you trusting? You didn’t lose a child. You didn’t lose a loved one. You just lost your data. You don’t think I can fix data? Maybe I have a different plan at work here. Just STOP. Be still and trust.”
I got it. At that moment, I needed some perspective. Considering everything going on in the world, this was quite small. Perspective. We can look at the sudden, unwanted turns in our lives as annoying interruptions and let them tear us apart, or we can see them as divine disruptions. Often these are strategic times when God puts a “holy hold” on our plans and asks us to see them as blessings rather than curses. It’s always safer to think we can hold those disruptions in our own hands, believing we can control the outcome (after our tantrums). But God asks us to trust him with those annoying interruptions, and my ability to do that was put to the test that day.
At the stoplight, out of tissues and with my eyes swollen from crying, I let it go. God had this situation in His control. My data was in His hands, and if I never got it back, I was still going to be just fine. This was not my battle to fight. There had been too many lately, so I gave this one back to God. (2 Chronicles 20:17)
The tech told me it would be weeks before my computer could be fixed, so when he called the next morning to tell me it was ready, I was sure there had been a mistake. I hurried to the shop and waited at the counter, hopeful, but still confused. The tech appeared, and he was smiling. “Lisa, you have all your data back. In fact, your computer is working better than before. I can’t explain it. We put it back together and it was ready to send off for the mainframe to be replaced, but everything came on. Battery charged, 
ports working, even the glitches it had before are fixed.”
I opened my mouth to say thank you, but all that came out was a squeak. I could barely breathe to get words out. After I carefully loaded the computer back into my car, I did the biggest joy jump ever. Some people might have their own explanation for why my computer miraculously started working, but all I could hear in my spirit was, You just lost your data. Don’t you think I can fix that? It was not about the data; it was about the trust. The website launched on time after all, and even the stuck “A” key and space bar were working!
Disruptions can take us out of our comfort zone and show us that God’s handprints are on both the big and small things in our lives. Every moment I spend worrying is a moment when I miss the opportunity to trust that God can use everything to work His miraculous plan for my life. That day caused me to look at those disruptions differently. What is important? This is a question I must ask myself daily as each disruption comes at me. When I am focused on the mission and purpose, I can walk in freedom. But it is a choice I must make. I invite you to make that choice also. Take the pressure off, trust that God can handle the disruptions, and walk in the freedom He offers.