I Once Was Lost, But Now I'm Phoned

by Laura Cowan

​There are no words to aptly describe how horrible I am with All Things Tech. I lose phones. I drop them in toilets, throw them across parking lots, leave them at out-of-town restaurants, and drown them in pools and oceans. I forget passcodes and security answers. John just spent two hours with the Apple tech guy, reconfiguring my new phone because I’d forgotten all my pertinent information, but never once did he roll his eyes at me or say, “Are you some kind of idiot that you give me 5 possible answers to the security question, ‘What was the first movie you ever saw?'”

When the problem is finally resolved, he hands me my shiny new working phone, and what do I do to show my appreciation? I drop it on the floor. He quietly said, “Laura, take care of your phone.” Not with visible restraint, just gentleness.

I literally cried, and laughed, and cried. At my stupidity and his goodness. I’d be living in the dark ages, but for John, my Tech Redeemer. John rightly could’ve said, “Laura, you don’t deserve a new phone.” Yet he loves me enough to give me one anyway. That’s grace.

It got me thinking of the verses in the Bible that begin with a description of our sorry human condition of failure, sin and death, and then breaks the despair with this phrase: “BUT GOD…”

“We were dead in sin, BUT GOD…made us alive in Christ…” Eph. 2:1-4

“BUT GOD will redeem myself from the power of the grave, and He will receive me” Ps. 49:15

“BUT GOD is judge…” Ps. 75:7

“BUT GOD knows your heart…” Luke 16:15

“…BUT GOD chose the foolish…” 1Cor. 1:27

“…BUT GOD…comforts the downcast, and comforted us…” 2Cor. 7:6

“… BUT GOD had mercy on…me also…” Phl. 2:27

“BUT GOD shows his love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ” Romans 5:8

​There are too many BUT GOD’s to list here, but if you, like me, recognize your utter hopelessness to be anything, or do anything other than fumble and fail, remember “BUT GOD…”