No Phone

Yesterday my phone started acting funny.  I tried to reset it and I couldn’t get it work right. I took the battery out and put it back in.  I recalibrated the screen a couple of times.  I took out the sim-card and put it back in.  I did everything I could think of to try and make it work but in the end, I couldn’t.  I spent the morning with the help of a co worker on the phone with my cell phone provider trying to fix it.  It was frustrating as they tried to get me to do things that I had already done trying to fix it myself.  It finally came down to me having to go to a store to have it looked at.  Luckily, the phone was still under warranty so I was able to get a new phone when they realized there was no way to fix it.  By three thirty this afternoon I was happily on my way home with my new phone.

I realized two things with my phone issues.  The first was that really rely on my phone for quite a lot.  I check my email with it, it is the only telephone I have to call people, I text message on it, and I often browse the internet on it.  When my phone goes down I lose a very valuable instrument that I use every day for my work and personal use.  I did start to stress out some last night when I couldn’t get it to work right.  It started when we were on our way back from the beach and I had a youth that needed to call a parent.  She couldn’t get it to work right.   That lead to the rest of my night messing with it off and on until I finally set it down for the night knowing that I would have to do a lot the next day in order to get another phone or figure out what is wrong with the one I have.  That was pretty stressful and frustrating.  Looking back at it, I am surprised that it frustrated me so much.

The second thing I realized is something about that frustration.  I think the most frustrating part of my phone issues was the fact that I couldn’t fix the problem.  No matter what I tried to do, I couldn’t fix what was wrong with my phone.  It is hard not to be able to fix a problem that you have.  I think we all end up with those situations.  It might be a fight between friends that no matter what you say or do, the other person won’t listen or forgive you.  Maybe you broke something irreplaceable and there is no way that you can fix it.  It could be that you said or did something that hurt people and you can’t fix it through words or deeds.

I think I will just be happy that my phone is fixed and come to the understanding that sometimes things are out of our control.  We might not be able to mend broken relationships or broken phones but we can always use the hotline to heaven.  We can always ask forgiveness for our thoughts and deeds and pray for those that won’t forgive us. God is with us always and always willing to listen when we call.