Frustrations and Turning the Other Cheek

 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

Since Thanksgiving, I’ve taken the 75-mile round trip to town eleven times.

First, our Cooper had a small wound on top of his head. At first it was tiny, but it kept getting bigger. The little stinker was rubbing and scratching it when we couldn’t see him. Our vet was concerned it might require surgery for it to heal. So, twice a week we drove into the veterinary office. In between there was a dental appointment and grocery shopping.

Next came a series of events that caused even more trouble.

Some months ago, my husband got locked out of his Google Chrome account (email included) and I had to create a new one. Finally, I figured out how to restore his original account and delete the other one. Seemed simple.

The next challenge, my husband ordered a smartphone from the manufacturer, not our service provider. To set the phone up and activate it, we needed a provider sim card. I made an appointment with our local authorized dealer, and we made another trip to town.

The young man took the sim card from my husband’s old flip phone and put it into the new phone. He fiddled with his iPad and announced it was ready to go. After we returned home, I turned on the new phone. The sim card wasn’t working. An online service agent apologized for the inconvenience, but the new phone needed a new sim card before the phone could be activated. The new card will take two days to arrive.

While I was online with the service agent, my husband logged into our bank to pay bills online. The bank requested a verification number, sent to his non-working phone. Our only recourse was to put the sim card back in his old phone. To do this, the battery had to be removed, followed by several other steps. It took me several minutes of fiddling around before I figured it out.

I was sure I had it right, but the phone wouldn’t turn on. After rechecking everything, I tried again with the same result. Panicking, I gave the phone to my husband and asked him to turn it on. I wanted a stiff drink when I realized I had been pushing the wrong button. I settled for some calming music, a glass of water, and a book.

The next issue, the irresponsible young man at the cell phone store. Did I turn the other cheek, or hold him accountable? My morning devotions offered this. “Set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” Timothy 4:12.

After some prayer, I’ve decided to lodge a complaint with the store’s manager. We should hold the young man accountable for his poor service, but no angry words. In fact, I’ll let my husband handle it. After all his years in law enforcement, he is better with this type of conversation than I am.  

A bit of good news, at the last appointment, our vet determined surgery won’t be necessary to heal Cooper’s wound. My husband’s new phone will be easy to activate with the right sim card. Regardless, I do not plan on doing anything that requires electronics or much thought, for the next day or so. My brain is past overload. Reading and a nap are about all I can handle.  

Dear Lord, thank you for reminding me that my actions, my character, are more important than being right and yet encourage met to stand up against wrongful actions. Amen.