The last week has been trying. All the big stuff is going great–my faith, health, family, the neighborhood friends, and even the weather. It’s hot! But a little something got me down. What caused this temporary state of melancholy? You’re looking at it–my website. Why? 

Last week there was a period of time when I was unable to access my site to finish an incomplete post. No big deal you say? No, it wouldn’t have been, except that was scheduled to publish the next morning. Nor was I able to access the dashboard to troubleshoot the problem. After three phone calls to my host organization, spanning over 12 hours, and involving a chatbot and three representatives, I could finally get access to my account. Wait. There was also an initial call to the software organization, and that’s where I received the direction to contact the host company. 

Could I have hired someone to handle this giant hiccup? Sure. In fact, that was one of the first suggestions out of the second representative’s mouth. But this is a hobby, and I wasn’t in the mood to shell out hundreds for a service I thought should be someone else’s obligation. But I was in the site. Until I wasn’t, this morning, less than five days after the last call. Server error. Back to the host for another call. That last one was annoying as well, as I endured yet another push to purchase services. Finally, the host gained access long enough to disable all the plug-ins, revealing that they had been the devil in the details all along. Then I was sent on my way to determine which ones were necessary and which ones I needed to delete. 

So what was the real reason for my foul mood? I thought about this at length. I don’t enjoy being cranky anymore than the people around me relish my company during those spells. Was it the threat of an unfinished post publishing prematurely? The sales push? The reps from each organization who seemed to abdicate responsibility? As irritating as all those things were, I think it was hubris. My need to feel capable of handling every problem that arises can create high anxiety when I hit a wall.

A website glitch may seem too insignificant to pray over, but asking for discernment is not. Good judgment is useful in every area of life. Next time, that will be Plan A—before I pick up the phone to ask for help.