During my Christmas break in Seattle, I lost my phone. And almost immediately I had to reject the voice of the enemy mercilessly whispering in my head. See, I'm known to be one of the clumsiest in my family and if I were to lose this one, it would be my third i phone in two years and fear and disappointment could creep in so fast, robbing me of my identity- something I've been "fighting" to keep, embrace and reclaim here in BSSM. I consciously made myself busy so that my thoughts wouldn't go into a downward spiral because I knew that losing my phone does not make me a loser. Although naturally, shame could easily attach itself to me and cause me to be hard on myself, thinking how could I ever be so clumsy and careless. I chose to consciously partner with the truth of what God said about me over and over again to not allow shame to creep in. I withheld telling my family back home in Malaysia, as to not worry them, but also in believing that my phone will be miraculously found.
Being in the Bethel community of crazy and miraculous signs and wonders, anything is possible and I've personally seen testimonies of God's provision. Cars, cash, bicycles and plane tickets are given by God so freely, it truly is a glory zone of supernatural provision and so I believed that I could get back my phone.
I recalled where I last had it and it was either in H&M (where I was crazy shopping cos of the sales, totally regret that now), on the bus back from Seattle to Puyallup or on the streets of Seattle when I was rushing to catch the bus. I called all three contacts and was blown away by how kind they were and how much each of them wanted to help and hoped that I would get my phone back. Back in Malaysia, this would never happen. Chances of ever finding back your phone is zero to nil, just because if someone found it, they will sell it. If the police found it, they will sell it too. But I knew that this was an attack of the enemy and what the enemy has stolen, it has to give back no matter what.
While doing all the necessary procedures such as calling the different contacts, I also had two options in terms of prayer. I knew I could pray for a new phone cos anything is possible here, but more than that, I wanted my old phone back because of the prophecies and photos embedded in the memory. This past 5 months have been totally life-changing and most of the memories documented were in my phone. I just needed it back. I began to pray everyday for a Good Samaritan to pick it up and call the emergency contact my friend put in there. I prayed almost all day everyday, holding onto the highlights in 2017 and believing for a greater 2018, at the same time suppressing all negativity that were on the verge of bubbling up.
Time came when I was suppose to fly home to Redding from Seattle and I still didn't hear from anyone. My host family prayed for my lost phone even as they sent me to the airport, believing for a miracle. Came home without a phone, did laundry and all the necessary, and started preparing myself to come back to school. On the 31st of December, my roommate and I decided to host a New Year Eve's party and whilst we were busy decorating, I got an FB message from my friend from Seattle, saying that my lost phone got found and that she'll be driving down to Seattle to collect it and mail it to me!!! I was ecstatic! Overwhelmed by God's goodness and faithfulness I couldn't believe it. God answered my prayer to the T! You see the H&M manager was collecting all the stuff from the lost and found on the last day of the year and she saw my phone, charged it and saw the number to call if retrieved! God is so amazing and I couldn't believe it!
Through this, I learned three things.
1. Pray, hope and believe that God will answer your prayer no matter how impossible the situation is.
2. My family wasn't as "judgmental" as I thought. Instead of identifying me as clumsy, they reached out to me through email, hoping and believing that it will return. (I just love my family so much and am super grateful!)
3. Not having a phone with internet connection made me soooo much more productive, I felt so robbed off my time when I actually had it!
After going through a withdrawal period (it was super tough, seeing how much I love taking photos), I had nothing better to do than to clean my room, decorate my wall, do my homework and what not. I became so much more productive, there were no more clothes on my bed waiting forever to be folded, or trash in the garbage needing to be taken out. I even had more time to be creative, it was amazing! I told myself that if I ever get my phone back, I would immediately delete Facebook off my phone and stop paying USD30 for service just cause I could survive with "wi-fi". And so I did. I must say that life has never been better. I don't fund myself wasting time scrolling through stuff that won't edify me, instead I became more happier just living in the moment and not comparing my life to everyone else's highlight reel. I loved it and am still loving it.
So I realized that God (and my partnership) can truly turn things around. We just need to believe and we will see that every storm has a silver lining and that the reward and lessons learned is so much more valuable then the "lost" we encounter. God is amazing, He works wonders as we encamp around His presence, making all things beautiful, turning beauty from ashes in making the lost get found.... even if it's a (stupid) i phone. Hahaha!!
No comments:
Post a Comment