The story behind the lost iPad

Ever had a test on something that you considered useless information only to find yourself months later wishing you had paid better attention because suddenly you need the same info that was on the test? OH YES, I've been there, and more recently I live there.

As a teacher-minded individual, I've become acutely aware of how much of INSPIRATIONAL teacher God is, in the past 6 months especially. If only I could have taken a few courses under Jesus' tutelage...guesss that's why we have the Bible right?

Things keep happening. Things that frustrate me so much I literally want to pull out my hair, and the only reason I haven't actually done so is vanity driven more than anything else. Things that I have ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROL over. UGH. 

So let me be transparent with you, I failed most of these tests. But it seems God wanted to see success, so He kept testing me until progress was made. Above all, I want it to be clear that this is not a "complaint" blog post. Rather, I want it to be a testimony of how faithful God is, even when I feel like He's failing me.

Test #1: Lost vehicle keys

No, I don't mean the spare, I mean the ONLY key set for my husband's bike. We looked everywhere and even combed a huge field with the kids I nanny (for the extra sets of eyes, hey, 1 yr old can help too :) This eventually cost $75 to have a new key made. Not fun to spend that money on something that we JUST had in hand 4 days before.

Test#2: Accident involving someone else's vehicle

Worst part is, I had asked him to do a favor for me, and because of my not so great attitude, it lead him to be hasty and act without taking a few necessary precautions, ending in a nice $250 price tag. It was like I got the wind knocked out of me.

Test#3: Dental Office Surprise

Being newlyweds (yes, I still say we are :) brings many new things. Things like sitting in the dentist's chair knowing that every sharp jab they inflict on your mouth is making your wallet so much lighter. In this case, I went to pay for our "routine" cleanings, when the office informed me that my husband was having a "deep" cleaning done that would cost a mere $275. I literally had them take me back to where Jonathan was to see if I could stop the madness! Nope, they were half way through and there was nothing I could do. So we paid  a bunch of arms and legs...again.

In everyone of this incidents, I did NOT act like the model wife. I kept asking WHY. WHY is this stuff happening? Doesn't God know that we have to save up a HUGE amount of money and all these mishaps and bills keep pilfering away at our savings?

Was I having faith? Was I showing grace to my husband? Was I being slow to anger and thoughtful before I spoke? Nope, no, and a big fat negativ-o. What a disgrace, after everything we've seen God do so far. BUT IT WAS SO UNFAIR!!! (Can't you just imagine me stomping my feet?) Yet, I kept coming back to Jonathan with apologies for my bad attitude, and promises that I'd do better next time. And it seemed that every time I would still fail the test. It seems God wasn't ready to leave me as a woman that was great at saying "sorry" a bunch of times. Behold yet another test awaited me.

Test#4: Lost iPad

Oh, say it ain't so... But oh yes it's true.

We took it to church last Sunday like we always do, so we could access the YouVersion Bible App. After church, we took our time talking to friends and visiting with others. Jonathan's mom was here with us from Kansas, so he and she headed to the car before I did. Evidently, Jonathan had approached the car, and set the iPad on the roof to take off his suit coat. He sat down in the car, looked around for the iPad and when he saw the suit coat in the back seat, he assumed it was under the coat. I came out the car, got in and away we drove to our 45 minute destination.

That night, we were getting ready for evening church, and I went to grab the iPad and...panic. No. Where. Gone. And then he remembered...

That trip to church that evening was a fairly quiet one. I did a lot of thinking. Inward bemoaning. Ohhhh....whyyyyyy?? But I kept my mouth shut this time. When we got to church I saw one of the pastors and asked if anyone had  heard or seen anything. Our first glimpse of hope. Yes! A woman had seen the iPad slide off the car and stayed around to see if anyone knew who it belonged to. But no one was at the church and no contact information had been shared. But at least we knew SOMEONE had it... That night in church, Pastor Gordeuk preached, and at one point he was sharing about forgiveness and it hit me right between the eyes. I realized that if I didn't forgive Jonathan right then, I would have to go through many more  of these "tests" and would have my conscience later to recon with. The Holy Spirit convicted me right then and there. Now it was my turn to make the choice. So I leaned over, and with a shaky whisper uttered the words, "Jonathan, I forgive you."

Suddenly, I was like a different person. My heart's song changed. I felt like dancing, and it was then that I realized that the real battle had been won.

Monday came and we kept calling the church office and nobody had heard anything new. I know that we both were offering silent prayers every time the iPad would cross our minds. It wasn't the financial loss of this technology that really bothered us, but instead, it was a gift from my parents. Jonathan felt horrible. I know that he felt irresponsible and completely negligent. But the Holy Spirit was helping me keep my mouth shut and just show Jonathan love and grace.

Tuesday came and still not a word but the Holy Spirit showed me in my devotions that morning the passage in John 14 that we should pray using Jesus name.So I did pray in Jesus name asking that the iPad would be delivered back to us, but ONLY if it was God's will. I was prepared to lose the iPad if He knew we didn't need in our lives anymore. I've learned that he knows what we need more than we know what we need. Jonathan also was able to pray with a group of his guy friends in Bible study that we would be able to find our ipad.

Finally, Wednesday morning arrived. Jonathan called to say good morning that; he didn't give me any new information. About two hours later he called again. This time he asked me if I had prayed specifically for the iPad.

"You're not going to believe this."

He had gone into the shop to clock out for work and looked down at the bench to see a black portfolio. It took him a few seconds to recognize what it was and suddenly he knew. God had placed the iPad back in our hands. We have no idea who found it or who brought it to his work, but this could only be an act of God because there was not a scratch on the iPad and it had 97 percent battery left.

Unbelievable. All that to teach me how to navigate stressful situations without having to apologize all over myself later? But you know what? It was worth every moment. Everything happens for a reason; so we may become more like Jesus Christ, and I pray that I will continue to remember what I learned. I know I'll never be able to look at that machine again without remembering the lesson I learned through it's lost and found story.

Here is our reminder of God's GRACE just as we lost/received  it