Panic, Chest Pains and a Shift

Wouldn't you know that after writing a post about waking up smiling, the day would fall apart? I really don't mean that to be pessimistic. Usually I am a "glass half full" kind of girl. In fact, my perkiness has been known to annoy others.

There should have been one of those warning signals at the beginning of the day yesterday, though. You know that horrible sound that emanates from the television right before the announcement, "This has been a test of the emergency broadcast system..."? Yesterday, I needed a heads-up that a test was coming.

Barry is in on the test too, and it seems that the instrument (of the devil) that is being used to test us are the computers and electronics in our household. My laptop has refused to send new emails for about a month now. Yesterday I got really determined. I'm in no way a computer whiz, but I got determined to find someone to help me.

Without boring you with the details, hours and many "solutions" later my computer still will not send emails.

But that's mild compared to Barry's test. The hard drive on his 4 month old computer crashed yesterday. So far the verdict is "irreparable and irretrievable". Months of work gone. Forever.

My day continued with 2 fillings being replaced and the pronouncement that I need a crown. Please excuse me for asking if you fall in this category, but isn't that for old people? Wow, that's me.

This morning the saga continued. I woke up panicking about 5 am and wasn't able to go back to sleep, so I headed for my quiet time spot for a much-needed attitude adjustment. Jesus was so sweet and gave such encouragement this morning.

I'm so glad I made the decision to get up and receive my portion, because this morning the tv has conked out and the desk-top computer registered completely full. (This is evidence that I am a technology illiterate since I had no idea that I should be checking, "cleaning", etc. Who needs one more thing to clean anyway?)

About this time, the pressure in my chest started to be pretty overwhelming, but here's the good part. Completely at the end of ourselves (a very hard and very good place to be), Barry and I sat on the floor and prayed. At the end of our time with the Lord, we came to some important realizations.

1. We are blessed. The fact that we are freaking out about our stuff dying is a clear sign that we're too dependent on it. Less stuff more Jesus and relationships is the clear call.

2. We have a 13-year-old whose been all by himself with us since Sunday, and we haven't taken advantage of it. Bad deal.

So this afternoon while the computer upstairs cleans itself (gotta love that!), we're going to spend the afternoon with our boy. The deadlines will still be there. The computers will still be in the shop. My old tooth will still need something to hold it together. But hopefully when we return we'll be refocused on the right things and ready to move forward in the right ways.

See you later! I'm off to iceskate on this 100 degree day!