Fascinated...Frustrated

"But may all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who long for Your saving help always say, 'The LORD is great!'"  Psalm 40:16 (NIV)

I walked into the Verizon store giddy with excitement.  When the salesman asked me how he could help me, I said, "I want to be SMART...and Fascinating!"  (Okay, for those of you less than tech-savvy folks...like me, I was shopping for a SMART phone called the Fascinate.)  I'm not sure if he enjoyed my play on words or not.  But I'm having a blast talking about my new state of  Fascinating-ness...even if other people don't get it.

We perused the choices of smart phones, listened to his tutelage of the pros and cons of the vast array of communication tools.  I liked the Fascinate phone...and not just because of it's cool name and that I can officially say that I am Fascinate-ed...and when using it that I am Fascinate-ing!!! 

We made the purchase.  He switched over all my contacts and handled all of the computer-ish type stuff.  I left the store all giggly, practically skipping to the car!  It was a bit of a bummer that I couldn't explore all of its possibilities right away, as I had to take it home and plug it in to charge for a couple of hours.  I was so excited, though, that I read the "Tips, Hints, and Shortcuts" manual provided.  Unfortunately, they wrote this mini-manual for people who obviously already know how to use a smart phone.  The phone finally was charged.  It was time to try it out!  Can I just say that the phone might be smart, but it doesn't figure itself out for you.

So...not only am I Fascinated, but I'm frustrated too.

I have successfully completed a few tasks on the phone...basic phone calling...checking the weather...downloading a game for my daughter (who thinks the phone partially belongs to her)...and scrolling and tapping...no swiping...and putting on a voicemail message that touts the possibility that I may not have answered the call because I couldn't figure it out. I have tried to email from the phone, text (before I found out that my "plan" didn't include texting...but for more money, I could add that), and load a couple of apps and gotten this response...Task Failed.

I'm headed to Charlotte for some personal tutoring from a couple of SMART daughters.

There is so much in life that is way more frustrating than the insignificant issue of learning to use a phone.  Waaaayyy more.  When we find ourselves crying out for HELP, we need to go the the Manual...for guidance, for reassurance, for encouragement, and for the reminder that "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."  (Psalm 46:1)  

I especially love this verse that says, "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me.  My heart leaps for joy and with my song I praise Him."  (Psalm 28:7)

May we take our frustrations to Him and be fascinated by the way He sees us through.

Lord, "Because You are [our] help, [we] sing in the shadow of Your wings." (Ps. 63:7)  We join those saints as we remember that "Thus far [You], the LORD [have] helped us." (1 Sam. 7:12)  We believe that You will continue!  We proclaim that You are our "help...the One who sustains [us]!  (Psalm 54:4)  Fascinate us with Your power.