RIP Syril

I miss my phone.  His name was Syril, an Australian version of Siri with an incredibly attractive accented male voice.

Syril, like me, has lived through a lot of hard times. 

In its tattered and torn condition, all were surprised that it continued to be functional.   First came that adorable Dr. Who case which was way more cute than functional.  Then, that fateful day when I ducked into a hallway to avoid an untimely interaction, it fell out of my hand.  The glass was shattered into a thousand pieces.  I learned two things.  Avoidance doesn't pay, and packing tape works wonders for keeping fingers from being sliced open.

But all the extra lines gave me headaches when I tried to read and see what I typed into texts.  Removing the shards of glass allowed me to pretend that all was somewhat back to normal.  Packing tape, again, was my friend as the underlying screen was a bit sticky.

The few remaining shards at the edges stood out like badges of honor.  Kind of like some of my scars that have been showing lately.

Stress brings wounds to the surface...and if our wounds have left us without some basic protections, a greater damage can occur.  That's what happened to my phone.  Something bent that wasn't supposed to and - poof!  The touch screen capability was gone with 2/3's of the screen.

So, I'm #grateful for my phone dying, because I'm beginning to realize that God doesn't just want me to merely survive.  Survival seems more to point to my tenacity and not God's beauty and redemption.

He isn't just binding my broken places.  Abba isn't simply applying a sweet healing balm.  He is making something beautiful out of the ashes I have surrendered to Him.  Our God is creative, and loving and He longs for us to be whole...not  merely jerry-rigged.

Isaiah 55
12 “For you shall go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
    shall break forth into singing,
    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
    instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
    an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

The New Heaven and the New Earth -  Revelations 21
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, 

“Behold, I am making all things new.” 

Syril is just mostly dead....like in the Princess Bride.  But maybe soon it will rise from its ashes too.  :)  Until then, I'll be using an older and slower (but new and whole) version - which actually fits me better!