Jinxes

Let me first say that I do not believe in jinxes, i.e., things that bring bad luck. In fact, I do not believe in bad luck. I simply accept that circumstances can be related, and that happenings can coincide, or events can follow one another. Luck is defined as ‘chance’ - that’s failure or success in particular situations. Some people believe they are lucky, and others believe they are unlucky, but I don’t subscribe to such beliefs. Those who know me well will understand that I believe in the sovereignty of the God of Heaven, and it is He who ultimately rules in all things, large or small.
But, let me tell you the story of a mobile phone. Like King David who was attracted to Bathsheba, I was attracted to a Nokia 9300i and I had to get it, no matter the consequences. David suffered as a result of his lust for Bathsheba who was married, and he lusted to the extent he had her husband killed on the battlefront, so that he could take her for himself. My lust did not go as far as killing to achieve my desire; I simply paid for the phone through Ebay. It arrived and my troubles began when I tried to synchronize it with my laptop. After a long battle I managed to get the phone to occasionally respond to my computer.
A few of you will know that I spent a while cruising a small boat to the Scilly Isles last summer, but you may not know that I fell into the water from the yacht when the Nokia was in my back pocket! Having saved myself by clambering aboard, I realized the urgency for drying out the phone. I took the thing apart and allowed it to dry in the sun, but I couldn’t get it to work. Later, after returning from the cruise, I tried the phone again, and to my surprise it fired into action, but 5 of the keys and the front display did not function. Thrifty, as I am, I put the phone up for auction on Ebay with a full explanation of the malfunctioning parts, and I was astonished when the winning bid was £80. My elation was short-lived, because 5 minutes after the good news, I received an email from Ebay to say the bid had been cancelled, because the person who made it, was disreputable by previously using Ebay to defraud customers. I was informed that I could offer the phone to the next highest bidder, but he did not take up the opportunity, which meant I lost the fees for the initial auction.
Deflated, I just forgot the whole affair, until a fortnight ago when I successfully auctioned an outboard motor, which inspired me to try the Nokia again. I made sure that all the details regarding the phone’s faults were clearly set out in the description, and I limited the bidding to UK residents, but I was amazed when the first bidder from Indonesia said he would send me £30 to cover the postage. I let him know that he would have to find a UK address for me and that I would not be posting the phone to Indonesia - To this he agreed.
During the course of a week I followed the bidding which eventually rose to £28.50, but who should be the successful bidder? An Italian! He took ages to pay for it, and I had correspondence with him agreeing I would ship the item providing he sent me the cost of postage, so he let me have £5.00. I tested the phone before packing it, and to my chagrin I discovered the battery would not take a charge, although it had worked only a few days before. I thereupon ordered a replacement battery to be delivered in time to go with the phone today, but it did not arrive, possibly because of a Postal strike. The fellow in Italy requested that I should send the parcel with a tracking code and have him sign for it on arrival. Enquiries at the Post Office revealed that a tracking facility was not an option for Italy, but signed delivery was, at further cost.
Well, I posted the parcel and I’m wondering if pain or sorrows will follow. Some of you will undoubtedly think the phone is jinxed, but for me the whole sequence of events were pre-ordained by a loving, caring God who tests those He loves. For me, luck and jinxes don’t come into the equation, but I’ll be mightily pleased if I never see or hear of the phone again! I feel sure this won’t be the end of the story, because I’ll be sending the replacement battery to the Italian, and if he is not satisfied, I’ll re-reimburse his money and tell him as lovingly as I can, that he can keep the phone.