iPhones and Forgiveness

I live by the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" policy. So when our cell phone contract was up last year and Joey started talking about switching carriers and getting new phones, I wasn't jumping at the chance... in fact, I was just plain dragging my feet. Sure, our phones may not have been the latest model, but they worked okay. In the end, it didn't take a broken phone to get me to make the switch. It took a stolen one.

Last week, while I was visiting my family and Joey was still finishing up the work week in Atlanta before joining us in New York, I received several calls from numbers I didn't know. Turns out, it was Joey trying to get ahold of me from borrowed cell phones. Someone had stolen his iPhone while he was swimming at the YMCA.

I was frustrated. I was irritated. I was angry. How could he leave something so expensive and important where it could be stolen? And then my brother took a moment to remind me of the time I was in college and my purse was stolen while I was at a friend's party. And then about a year later, the exact same thing happened with my favorite coat. (Aren't older brothers always so good at reminding of you of things like that?) And then my mom chimed in to remind me that my carelessness led to my own phone being stolen a few years ago. (Mom's are good like that, too.) And what did I hope for when those things happened? Understanding. Compassion. Forgiveness.

How quickly I put blinders on to ignore my own flaws, faults, and mistakes, while being quick to expect perfection from others. To judge and criticize. To hold grudges. To commit sin upon sin upon sin.

And let's be honest. Losing a purse, a coat, a phone... these are certainly not the worst things I have done or will do. I am a sinner. And through Christ, I have been given the ultimate forgiveness. How could I withold forgiveness from others?

I'm learning a lot as I share my life with Joey... and one pretty important lesson is how much we need forgivness in this marriage of ours. Because a forever together is going to include a lot of love and a lot of happiness, but also a lot of mistakes.

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And wouldn't you know, the stolen phone turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I actually like these new phones of ours. I love that my husband, who travels over 1,000 miles a week for work, will be safer with his trusty sidekick Siri available to read and write his texts and emails while he drives. I'm amazed by the quality of the 8 megapixel built-in camera and I've been snapping pics everywhere. I enjoy having a phone that works quickly enough to let me use Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest on the go. (I'm like a real blogger now!) God sure is good.