#377 – Swimming Phone

I love my phone.

At our wedding, Alycia’s sisters made fun of my affinity for my phone in their matrons of honor speech.

Before going to Hawaii my friends asked me whether or not I would abstain from using my phone.

In Hawaii I didn’t completely abstain from using my phone but I didn’t use it as much as I normally do. I did run up my score on Foursquare but I didn’t tweet nearly as much and I mainly used my phone as a camera.

That was until my overconfidence led to my phone’s downfall.

I love my phone but I don’t treat it like I do. I constantly drop my phone, toss it around and splash it with water. I dropped my phone in a clean toilet once and it came back to life. I then dropped the same phone while playing games at youth group and shattered the screen.

Since my phone had issues with water and impact I purchased the Lifeproof case for my replacement phone. The Lifeproof case is both waterproof and shockproof. I tested the case numerous times: dropping my phone (intentionally and accidentally) and took it in the shower to listen to podcasts (like the Dadcast). The case protected my phone every time.

I was confident in my case. A little too confident.

Last Friday while snorkeling in Hanauma Bay I wanted to take pictures of the tropical fish. I took my protected phone with me into the ocean and my phone was good. Unfortunately, because my fingers were too cold, I wasn’t able to work the touch screen. I put my phone back in my pocket and continued snorkeling. It wasn’t until I got out of the water that I realized the bottom hatch had popped open, allowing the bay to flood my phone.

I felt like the Emperor and Luke. The Emperor’s overconfidence was his weakness. Luke’s faith in his friends was his weakness. My overconfidence and faith in my phone case was my weakness.

For the last part of our vacation I was set completely free from my phone. Even if I wanted to text or tweet, I was practically incapable of doing so. I went from being engaged with my vacation to being even more engaged. I still love my phone and hope it makes a speedy recovery but perhaps God was knocking my Dagon down just a little bit.

What’s your relationship with your phone?