| Yes, I cried in the Apple Store. SO EMBARRASSING! Now I'll tell you why it happened. Lisa and I are on a trip to see our son Joshua in Boulder, Colorado. We're here now. But I ran into a problem. Whenever I take my MacBook Air somewhere other than home, I can't get on the internet. I can connect to WiFi, but I can't get onto the internet. Very confusing. I've spent literally hours and hours trying to figure out the problem. I've been on the phone with support for hours, to no avail. So yesterday, here in Boulder, Josh said there's an Apple Store just down the street. So we went. They were all so kind and helpful. I was there for hours though, including on the phone with support. I set up an appointment with a tech person for 1pm. So I was there from about 10am till that time, on the phone, talking with people, and trying to figure out what the problem is. Finally at 1pm, I met the tech person. He introduced himself and asked my what my problem was. For the umpteenth time, I explained. He said, "Let me look?" He looked at my advanced settings, the IP addresses, and he said, "Those IP addresses shouldn't be there. They're from your home that must've been typed in there or are legacy numbers. They don't need to be there. That's why when you're away from home, your computer's trying to connect to those IPs but can't because they're private. Can I remove them?" I said, "Sure!" He did. And BOOM! There was the internet! He fixed my problem in less than a minute. I put my head down on the table and tears came to my eyes. I was so relieved. So happy. So thankful. After exchanging a few pleasantries and me wiping tears from my eyes, we said goodbye. Has that ever happened to you? You are so frustrated and in such agony and suddenly your problem is gone and tears well up? Such relief! But what was is the lesson I learned? Here's what I wrote in my journal: "It's one thing to be kind and patiently just be with people in their problems, their struggles, their sorrows. But it's totally something else to solve their problems, release them from their struggles, and end their sorrows. "It reminds me of the church and religion in general that kept me in a perpetual state of both frustration and hope... frustration with my problems and hope that they will get fixed... but nothing ever happening. There were always people offering me their fellowship or advice or encouragement or solutions or course or book but nothing ever worked. There was a constant promise of fulfillment... but I only ever experienced the promise, never the fulfillment. "If we offer people freedom, peace, and happiness, we must also show them exactly how to find it for themselves, and find it NOW! "The perpetual state of hope, faith, and promise, only keeps us in a perpetual state of apparent brokenness and frustration and blinds us to the fact that we can end our suffering and not wait for approval or permission or a magic cure. "My struggle (speaking theologically/spiritually) ended in 2009 when I took matters into my own hands and ended it." Do you hear what I'm trying to say? I hope so. Because I think this is important.
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