CELL HELL

August, 2004
by dean krippaehne

Before you become too offended by the title of this story let me say that it is with good reason that I chose to highlight that particular "H" word - a reason that you may not expect - so bare with me, it will all make sense in the end.

I was at my parents new house. They were having problems getting their computer hooked back up to the Internet and they had asked me to come and help. I tried all of the regular solutions but nothing was working so I soon found myself doing what all of us dealing with computers, the Internet and telephone companies have to do from time to time - I had to make that dreaded call to customer service. Yikes!

One of the things that I was trying to do was to get a certain Internet service provider (ISP) company - I wont mention their name - to send us some new software because ours was either corrupted or outdated, or maybe both - whatever it was - it wasn't working. "That will be no problem" they had said but in the preceding weeks this unnamed Internet company had sent the new software to two wrong addresses. This day, as I connected with their customer service on my cell phone, I was determined that we were going to rectify the "wrong address" situation. I was going to be absolutely sure when I hung up the phone that they indeed were going to send the new software to the correct address of my parents new home. The end of our conversation on my cell phone went something like this:

Dean (me) Talking: "15432 West Sonnet Drive - yes, 1-5-4-3-2 WEST Sonnet Drive. Are you sure you've got that? Can you read it back to me please?

NO! 15432 - not 15370 West Sonnet.

Do you have the name spelled correctly? Let me spell it slowly for you: K-R-I-P-P-A-E-H-N-E. Can you please spell it back to me?

No, no, that's not right. It's spelled - A-E-H-N-E.

OK (sigh) can you repeat that to me - the address that you will be shipping too please. NO, that's not correct. It's: 15432 West sonnet. (frustrated, blood pressure rising feeling)

OK - let's have you read it back to me just one more time just to be sure.......... Correct. Thank you.

So, we should expect to receive that in three to four days? You can't send it from there? You'll need to transfer me to shipping?! (Big time exasperation)

And give them my address - and then they will send it? Listen, (my voice rising) this is my third time trying to get the software shipped to the right place. Don't you have access to the same computer as shipping - can't you just type in the correct address? (wait, pause) THANK YOU - I'D APPRECIATE THAT!!!!!!

I then hung up the phone - well, actually, I kind of threw it on the down on the floor - good thing the floor was carpeted. By this time my blood pressure was about ready to shoot through the roof - I was steaming - no, more like boiling - so much so that I proceed to launch into a very foolish verbal tirade, right there in the presence of my father who was in the room with me, about how inept customer service is for these new technology companies. I’m sure that any of my fathers neighbors who may have been walking by outside could have easily heard me yelling at the top of my lungs - out of control saying things like "what kind of stupid people are working there - I've never witnessed in such an idiotic, Micky mouse operation in my entire life" That's the cleaned up and sanitized version of what I was really saying. But you get the effect - I'm just ranting and raving, fuming in my own stupid "how stupid can people be" routine.

Just then, at the height of my madness, at the top of my tantrum, I hear a sound that makes my heart jump up and stick into the back of my throat. The sound goes something like this, "Sir, is there anything else I can help you with? Sir, sir, is there anything else I can help you with?" I then glance down at my cell phone - it is still on. The person that I had been talking to has heard everything, all of my hideous rant. I sheepishly reach down and turn it off.

THE "HELL" PART

The power of evil and the power of temptation are real and often come when you least expect. This day, this time, this phone conversation, Dean Krippaehne (me), turned his back for a moment on Jesus Christ and flew off into an unedited rage of the mouth, and venomous wit, feeling somehow justified in his (my) actions. The sad result was that I was quite possibly harming, hurting and killing the spirit of one telephone operator who was just trying to do her job. I also was damaging myself, hindering the Spirit in me. And my heart and mind recognized that yet again I had hammered another nail into the flesh of Christ on the cross.

Do I need Christ? Do I need forgiveness? Do I pray every day for God to help change those things in me which I cannot change by myself? Yes, yes, yes! Some days, more than others, I thank God for sending Jesus Christ to deliver me - from this kind of ugly stuff.

Matt 16:23-25
23Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." 24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

2 Tim 4:18
18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.