And Replaceth in His Time

When I lost my cellphone two days ago, I automatically entered the world of cellphone theft victims. I listened to officemates and friends relate their own stories of loss. A good part of each morning was spent before the computer answering email in response to my official announcement about deleting my number from their directories. Suddenly, the pocket directory notebook a friend gave me became useful!

One of the best replies I received was from a beloved kuya who repeated my quote of Job 1:20 KJV ("The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away...") with his own additional phrase in big-point size font: And Replaceth in His Time! That truly made my day!

For someone whose childhood didn't include computers, I didn't feel that bad. I knew I'd go through the hassle of reconstructing a directory and informing everyone again about my new number. But I'm in no hurry. I haven't even thought about the kind of unit I'd buy this time. But I'd definitely go modest in tune with the hard times. I've lived without one for more than half my life, a few days of silence and privacy won't do me harm.

Yes, the Lord will provide. That was my pat reply way back when everyone (except me) was buying a cellphone and enjoying the thrill of texting during its debut in the every man's world. And then my first cellphone came by means of a raffle prize. I upgraded it by selling the unit I won and adding a bit more to buy a more recent model.

I literally wore that unit out. When it fell apart, my boss accompanied me to a cellphone store and bought me a more high-tech one on company expense. He couldn't afford to have me cut off from precious contacts at that time. For almost six months (five months and 16 days to be exact), I reveled in its use.

It's reality check time. So far, so good. Lord, take Your time.