Cell Phone confusion, Doing things His way

Mama and I have arrived at the end of our AT&T contract with Chase to follow in mid-June. We are now in the process of selecting an alternative to the plan we just completed which will upgrade our phones and provide better services for Mama and Chase. I have had the only data plan operational under our current plan and Chase is anxious to have his own. It is not only expensive to have, it is confusing to choose.


I have never been a fan of cell phones but they have become as ubiquitous as in home cable or internet service. Our desire to be instantly connected often frightens me. But even in that fear I have become accustomed to having the service at hand. Using only cell phones in the last year I have gotten an idea of my interaction through the device – 70 min/mo, 40 texts/mo on average. The other 2930 minutes are used mostly by Mama. Most of the text load is born by Chase. I can obviously live without a personal cell phone but since I am the “responsible party” (I pay the bill.) I am by default required to have at least one in my name. All that being said, I am not anxious to give up my iPhone even though I have been assured by Mama and Chase that it is a necessary sacrifice. I thought the $200/month for all this wonderful technology was the only necessary sacrifice; now they are cutting deeper.

Brittany was met at Champion Bible College with a stunning disappointment. They have cut staff so much that she will only have seven hours of coursework available this semester that will directly apply to her degree. With less than twelve hours she cannot live in the dorms. She called upset and wondering what to do. I talked with her a few minutes to fully understand the situation and told her I would call her late today after I had time to pray and think about it.

While I was driving home yesterday, as I began to really talk with the Lord about her situation, it occurred to me that the same council I live by applies: when life events put into question the direction of your life even though you are working for the Lord where you are, keep doing what you are doing until God makes it clear to what you need to do next. He is not in the business of making us guess, but He will almost always have us wait – patient, obedient persistence is the goal.

I advised her to take twelve hours, go through the semester and then we will see what God has for her as well as for me and Mama, since our lives are not settles either.

It is interesting that the women she talked (outside of the college) to told her to move on so she did not waste her time and money. The men she talked to told her to stay and finish the semester. Nothing is ever wasted when your heart is right before God. These are the times we grow impatient and frustrated because we feel there is some need to hurry up and get things done.

I have a benchmark for that; Noah took 120 years to build the ark, Abraham had his 100th birthday before the promised son was born to him, and our Savior came only “in the fullness of time.” With respect to the Gospel there an urgency, in the other areas of life, God does not seem to be in a hurry.

As His children He meets our every need, but always in His time, always for our good, always for His Glory. Not a bad deal!