The first iPhone was introduced to the world on January 9, 2007, at the Macworld Convention in San Francisco. It was presented as a 3-in-1 device: a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough internet communications device. The iPhone did away with the physical keyboard in favor of a multi-touch screen, allowing the user to interface with multiple applications.
The first iPhone went on sale on June 29, 2007, with a 4GB model ($499) and an 8GB model ($599). Both featured a 3.5” display, a 2-megapixel camera, visual voicemail, and Safari web browsing. Roughly 270,000 units sold in the first 30 hours, with demand so high it taxed AT&T’s servers as 146,000 iPhones were activated in the first weekend.
74 days after release, Apple sold its one-millionth iPhone. Consumers were drawn to the combination of a phone, a widescreen iPod, and an internet browser with a functional touchscreen. 1.4 million phones were sold in 2007.
While the iPhone was (and still is) a revolutionary device, one problem experienced by many users is screen breakage. The creators of the iPhone chose to prioritize aesthetics and display over ruggedness, despite improvements in the quality of material technology. Even with the introduction of the ceramic shield on the iPhone 12 to improve durability, the reliance on edge-to-edge glass made them vulnerable to impacts.
The front glass often extends to the very edge or curves slightly. This often makes it the first point of contact during a drop. Glass is brittle and (while hard to scratch) it is susceptible to shattering on impact. Placing an iPhone in a tight pocket or bag can cause pressure that cracks the screen, even without a drop.
While an iPhone may continue to function with a cracked screen, it can lead to further damage. Dirt, debris, and moisture can enter through the cracks and damage the OLED or LCD panel. Cracked screens can also develop “dead zones” where the digitizer stops responding to a finger touch. Cracks can grow over time, increasing the area of damage and reducing screen functionality and visibility.
The good news, sort of, is that if a screen is cracked, the iPhone is damaged, but it’s not beyond repair. A screen repair can be costly, often exceeding $149 to $349, depending on the model, unless you have AppleCare+ coverage on your phone. Third-party repairs can cause the phone to lose functionality, with issues to Face ID and True Tone display adjustments being most common.
The best prevention is using a high-quality protective case and a hardened glass screen protector. This is the most effective way to avoid damage to your iPhone.
If you’ve ever been there, you know the sick feeling you get in the pit of your stomach as your phone slips from your grip and strikes the ground. You pick it up, turn it over, and you find yourself staring at a spiderweb screen. It’s a moment of anger and embarrassment. Your immediate thought, “It’s ruined.”
But even with a cracked screen, the iPhone usually still works. You can receive calls, send texts, and browse the web. Every time you look at it, it reminds you of a moment when you were careless, and now you’re dreading the inevitable bill when the phone has to be repaired.
Again, if the screen is cracked, the iPhone is damaged, but not beyond repair.
I experienced a similar “damaged, but not beyond repair” moment when my kids were younger. One of the guys who worked for me, Uncle Jim (as my kids called him), and I were traveling to a conference in Missouri. We were traveling up scenic Highway 7 early in the morning. It’s one of the most beautiful drives in Arkansas.
The sun was peeking through the tree-lined highway as I rounded a curve. Just ahead of us, standing in the center of the road, were a trio of deer, a buck and two females. The buck and one female went right, and the other female ran to the left. I swerved my car into the middle of the road, breaking sharply, to avoid the deer, when the female who had gone left turned and ran the other way.
I was driving a Camaro, and as I sharply applied the brakes, the nose of the vehicle lowered. The deer jumped in an effort to avoid my car, but I clipped her feet as she jumped. The doe landed on the hood of my car, slid up and over the windshield, and landed on her feet behind us. She ran into the woods and disappeared with the other two deer.
Jim and I got out to assess what happened. The doe’s foot broke a headlight. Her impact on my car damaged my hood and the passenger side fender panel. Thankfully, the car was drivable, as we were miles from any town with no cellular service. We drove on to Missouri, attended the conference, and traveled home the next day.
When I got home, I went to see my mechanic. After I shared the story with him about what happened, he said, “John, she’s damaged, but fixable.” The parts were ordered, the work was done, and a few days later, I was driving my Camaro once again.
It had been damaged, but it was not beyond repair.
How often do we feel like our lives have been shattered or broken? We make a mistake, or we experience a breakup, a career setback, or a failure. When that happens, our thoughts continually replay what happened, and we stay there. We end up focusing on the “crack” or the “dent” in our lives, amplifying the feelings of frustration, anger, guilt, or embarrassment.
When an iPhone breaks, even if it’s only a cracked screen, how often are we tempted to simply get a new one? Getting the phone fixed seems like a waste. The repair process is slow, expensive, and inconvenient. Why not just get a new one and start over?
When we wreck a car, how often do our thoughts lead us to a dealership, scrolling Carvana or CarGurus, thinking about trading for a newer model? Why pay all that money to get a car repaired, waiting days or weeks, when we can put that money toward a new one and drive it off the lot?
When things don’t go as planned in our lives, we experience a setback, make a mistake, or find ourselves failing, the temptation is to want to move on to something new rather than taking the time to fix what’s broken so it can work like new again.
Your life may have been damaged, but it’s not beyond repair.
Damage isn’t always a total loss. Usually, it’s only an indication that something needs to be rebuilt or repaired. It simply requires you to shift your mindset from “It’s broken” to “It’s fixable.” It takes time, patience, and sometimes some specialized tools, but you come out on the other side fully and completely restored.
What you use to put things back together matters, both in repairing a physical object and in your personal growth. The tool you choose will define the strength, flexibility, visibility, and permanence of the repair. The same thing applies to how you handle life’s setbacks, mistakes, failures, and relationship repairs.
Sometimes, we take a Super Glue approach. This method is fast-acting and immediate, but isn’t always permanent. It doesn’t take a lot to do the job, and it works quickly, but the bond is brittle and often fails under stress. This repair may not hold and could require a more permanent, long-term solution later.
The Super Glue approach to repairing life’s challenges happens when we choose quick, superficial solutions to avoid emotional discomfort or mask our problems. For example, we apologize for an action that offended someone without changing our behavior. Rather than fix it the right way, we look for a way to make the problem go away without really fixing it.
Other times, we take a Wood Glue approach. Wood glue is stronger than the surrounding material. It penetrates deeply into the crevices and imperfections, but takes time to cure. The quality of the repair is only as good as the underlying preparation and honesty in addressing the root cause, so it demands integrity. It also requires patience, because a lasting bond needs sufficient time to cure properly.
The Wood Glue approach to repairing life’s challenges lies in addressing the root causes of the issue rather than simply using a filler to mask a problem. It requires honesty in assessing what happened (and why), and rebuilding trust over time. If we take the time to do it right, the end result is a bond that’s as strong, or stronger, than before.
Sometimes, we take an Epoxy or Weld approach. This is a two-part process that results in an industrial-strength, permanent bond. This approach is about creating lasting transformation.
A weld symbolizes a deep, foundational change that forges a new, strong relationship between two people. Epoxy represents filling in the potential weak spots that might otherwise compromise the transformation. Once combined, this approach focuses on intensive, active repair that addresses the root cause of conflict, leading to long-term structural integrity of a relationship.
At times, we can take a Band-Aid approach to repair. It’s quick, adaptable, and flexible, but often messy and visible. Sometimes, flexibility is necessary for survival, but tape rarely holds forever. It’s meant to allow for freedom of movement, not permanent fixing. It provides immediate comfort, but it works best when dealing with temporary issues.
A Band-Aid approach is often used when we’re dealing with a distraction or a temporary coping mechanism while dealing with a crisis. It reduces the immediate tension caused by a minor wound, but allows for continued functioning. It provides time for the relationship to mend itself and the issues around it to be resolved.
The Needle and Thread approach is used when repairs need careful, precise, and manual reconstruction. Sewing things together requires care, attention, and effort. The visible stitches serve as a visual reminder of the time and effort given to make things new. It demonstrates intentional, careful effort.
The Needle and Thread approach is about mending relationships through purposeful communication or rebuilding self-esteem, trust, or cooperation step-by-step. While scissors represent the destructive nature of conflict, a needle and thread represent a deliberate repairing process that binds two people together. It requires a willingness to mend.
If you’re in crisis, you might need a Band-Aid or Super Glue to stay together.
If you’re building a new life, you might need Wood Glue to create deeper, lasting bonds.
If you’re healing deep damage, you can use epoxy for permanent, resilient repairs.
But there’s one last repair I want to touch on, and it has its origins in ancient Japan. It’s an approach to fixing what’s damaged, turning brokenness into strength.
Kintsugi is the art of repairing broken pottery, usually ceramics (like teapots and teacups), using lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. Rather than hide the damage, it highlights the cracks, treating the repair as part of the object’s history and beauty.
During a tea ceremony utilizing elements that had been repaired through the process of Kintsugi, the participants engaged in Wabi-Sabi, the appreciation and celebration of that which was once broken, but now has been repaired. It is a reminder that we can find value in imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness.
When our relationships are damaged, we have two choices. We can walk away and leave the relationship broken, or we can choose to repair the emotional cracks in our relationships with compassion and care. Rather than pursuing a perfect relationship, we choose to accept the fact that our partner has flaws, and so do we.
Wabi Sabi reminds us that we must give up the desire to “fix” the other person. We can choose to come together as two imperfect people and simply appreciate the present moment. Wabi Sabi is about focusing on the positive aspects of a relationship rather than focusing on what’s lacking.
We all bring scars to our relationships because, at times, we’ve all been damaged. Our scars from past conflicts we’ve overcome, like silver, gold, or platinum lacquer, show that we’ve found a way to fix what was broken in a way that adds value to who we are.
We were broken, but not beyond repair. The lessons we’ve learned from the challenges and conflicts we’ve overcome have made us more valuable, even if the scars of the past are still visible to ourselves or others.
Like the repaired teapot or teacup, we are more beautiful, more valuable than the original, because our scars tell a story of healing, redemption, restoration, and overcoming.
Like the screen of an iPhone, sometimes our lives are cracked by conflict.
We’re damaged, but not beyond repair.
Wabi Sabi reminds us that our cracks are not our failures. Our experiences, struggles, and the process of Kintsugi restore us with golden seams that declare to the world that we were once broken, damaged, but we were not beyond repair. We are one of a kind, a masterpiece, more valuable than before. And, we are a continual work in progress.
Don’t hide your cracks. Embrace them. Do the work to repair what was broken and allow your scars to tell a story of healing, redemption, restoration, and overcoming.
You may be damaged, but you’re not beyond repair.
