5 Years of Faithful Comradery
The time has come, I'm afraid, for an old friend to retire. The friend
I speak of had no real name...outside of his given name...the
Motorola T720. For 5 long, hard years, this friend served me
well and kept me connected to the ones I love. Many a cold,
dark and wintery walk home from my awful job was made warmer
by the soft glow of his presence beside my ear.
It hasn't all been roses, though. Often, close friends and family
almost came to the point of disowning me. You see...the T720 was
never the same after a few things happened to him:
1. I fell on him while changing the oil in my civic, cracking the
display screen. I was never again able to see who was calling
until I opened the phone.
2. The contacts in his 'flip' mechanism began to get dirty, causing
me to open my phone in the delight of an incoming call, only to
hang up immediately on the caller.
3. His LED screen began to flicker crazily making it difficult to
see what numbers I was dialing.
I know it's a machine...and we are told they don't have feelings...
but even now, as he lies lifeless on my futon, the message on his
ever-fading screen reads 'Insert SIM' as if to say 'Put me back
in Coach!' or 'I still want to serve you for a little while...please...
look into your heart!'
It's nothing personal, T720. I really do not feel any hatred or
malice towards you. In fact, I'll keep you around my house as a
reminder of your hard work and dedication to communication
for as long as I can (or until Sarah chucks you in the trash).
T720 - You mean the world to me - you really do.
But it's time to move on.
A Landmark Discovery 
So...the summer is basically over. It's September. Who are
we trying to kid with this amazingly palatable weather?
You know those moments where...you just feel like the
planets are aligned in your favour and a decision you once
toiled over was made right over time? That happened
today. Being back in St. Catharines for a few days, I have
been doing nothing more than chillin' with Sarah, watching
TBS comedy re-runs, playing syphon filter, uploading
more music to the pod and many other brainless tasks.
Today, however, I needed to run downtown to do some
quick banking at a BMO located directly kiddie corner
to my old realm of employment. Upon reaching said
destination, I recognized an old employee from the
company and made some light conversation. Beyond the
usual "Where have you been?" and "What have you been
up to?", I asked the question "So how is NuComm these
days?" The response was far beyond my expectations:
"Oh...It's not NuComm anymore! It got bought out by
another company!"
Are you friggin' kidding me?
"They're called Transcom! Yeah, it will be NuComm for
another 6 months to a year, but after that, no one has any
job security."
Um...Wow.
Talk about a divine mapping: I now know, beyond any
shadow of pixelated hesitation, that my decision to leave
that place in the dust of its own demise was for my
ultimate best. Even beyond my termination of employment
at NuComm, though, was the journey of this summer and
myself getting back to the root of two penultimate
traits/life applications that give me unrelenting fulfillment:
1. Selflessness: At NuComm, and over the last three years,
I was a self-absorbed wreck. All I could ever think about was
myself. Everything was rooted in me looking out for my best
interests at every turn. This put many things in jeopardy -
including my marriage at times. This past summer, I could
only ever think about/dwell within/focus on the needs of
others. In an environment where I was constantly focused
on building others up, I found joy in just listening to...and being
with others in a thriving community. A challenged and needy
community - yes - but a thriving one, nonetheless.
2. A child-like faith: Jesus always told us to come to him like
children. Often, when we make things too complex within the
endless catacombs of our minds, we can almost go insane.
This summer, I didn't get much chance to 'complexify'...things
just happened that cannot even be fully explained...but that
doesn't rule out their happening or why they happened. There
is redemption and boundless life within the concept of
abandoning our sleepless minds and simply falling on our knees
before an endlessly loving Father.
Having stated the previous, please note that my journey has
not ended.
It has only really just begun.
