How My GPS Reminded Me of Faith

Grand Dude and I are training for a fall marathon. We both have all the gadgets, shoes, etc. I have a GPS watch that I absolutely adore. It frees me from marked trails since it'll keep tabs of how far I've run.

Last week I was on one of my long runs and about the last mile, the battery suddenly went dead. I thought, it just needs a recharge. So, I plugged it in and charged it right back up. I went on a run the next day and I was only ½ mile into it and the battery died again.

Grrrr! I thought perhaps I plugged it in wrong .. it can be a little quirky that way. Once again, charged it up to 100%, verified it was at 100% and once again on my run it died about ½ mile into my run.

Now, I'm cranky! I go to the manufacturer website to search for a solution and noticed that there was new firmware... so I download it to my watch. Charged it up, went for a run and guess what … AGAIN it died!

Now, I'm really cranky! Back to the website I go searching for an answer. I finally give up and call the Customer Support who told me that after the firmware update it takes about 3 cycles of charging it up and letting it drain before it takes hold.

This makes no sense to me … I'm in IT and hardware either works or it doesn't. But with no other course of action to take, I decided to follow the advice.

After the third time of completely draining, the battery charge took hold. Yeah, A Miracle!!! I still don't understand why it took 3 cycles of draining battery; but to be honest it doesn't matter.

When I was on my run today wearing my watch, it struck me how similar this experience is with my faith in different aspects of my life. Lessons I was reminded of:

1. When I'm frustrated I need to look for a different way.
2. I don't need to do it alone, seek advice from someone more knowledgeable
3. I may be told to do something that logically makes no sense to me.
4. I need to have faith and do the footwork of what I've been instructed to do
5. Have gratitude when the miracle happens.

Most importantly, I was reminded I don't need to understand why it worked, it works and that is enough for me.