Our Journey

Who's got the power?

I have been struggling through the last five months, lying in bed with horrible back pain. Through it all I have taken pride in "handling it well". A couple of days ago I realized that I wasn't really handling it well - I was putting on a front. For some time I had been looking forward to my appointment with the neurologist because I was certain that once I went in I would get a date for my disc replacement surgery. That didn't happen. I was told that, although I am a great candidate for that surgery, there was next to no chance that L&I would pay for it. The solution that was suggested was to do a different type of procedure, removing a portion of the disc which would possible take away the sciatic pain but do nothing for my back. I was devastated! It was then that I realized that I wasn't handling it well. I wasn't handling it at all. I was just holding my breath until I could get the result that I wanted -then when I didn't....the air went out of me entirely. I couldn't stop crying and really felt hopeless.
Howie became concerned and called our good friends to see if they could get through to me. They told me the things I knew were true -"it will work out", "we will find a way", etc. but nothing really got through to me until my friend said,"why are you giving this one person the power to take away your hope?" It really struck me and changed my perspective. How many times in our lives do we allow people the power to change who we are, destroy our hope, influence our beliefs and opinions? It happens to me way too often and I find myself asking why. The bottom line is that, besides myself, the only one that I want to allow to have that kind of power is God. Yet if you look at my track record I allow other people to influence me way more often than I allow God to. Since it is not in His nature to initiate a power take over, I am going to have to consciously place Him in charge every day. I know that if I do, I will be at peace no matter the circumstance because He knows what's best for me - even if it's not what I want.
I challenge you all to carefully evaluate your lives and answer truthfully - Who's got the power?

posted by The Hambleton Family @ 10:21 PM 0 Comments

Paper mountains

I have been doing taxes, filling out applications, filling out L&I paperwork and I am starting to wonder how there is any space on this planet for people with all of the paper. Good grief!! I actually had to clear off the bed so that Howie could go to sleep last night. It was completely covered with papers I was working on. I have never been a "tree hugger" but I am starting to get a better understanding of that point of view. I think that I could make a giant tree out of the paper in my house! So if you don't see me for a while, please come and look for me. I will probably be buried under a mountain of papers.....

Labels: family, mission, paper

posted by The Hambleton Family @ 1:58 PM 0 Comments

Learning to trust

I have always been a person who has faith in God and trusts Him in all things....at least that is what I have told myself. In reality I have always taken care of everything myself until I run out of options and am at the end of my rope then I trust Him to fix my mess and take care of everything from there. Not quite the exact interpretation of Prov 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Lately, as we contemplate our life on the mission field we are learning to daily trust Him for our needs and direction and it is wonderful. I know that it sounds "super-spiritual" but really it's selfish and quite a relief.
Think back to when you were a child. Most of us never worried about how the power bill was going to get paid or whether or not you had enough groceries to last. How many of us as children worried about global warming, the policies of the president, or taxes? I had no worries because I believed that my parents had things under control and loved me enough to take good care of me. So why don't I trust my Heavenly Father who loves me even more? Why do I doubt His ability to take care of me and my worries when he created the universe? In a nutshell?..... I think that I have become comfortable with control. I have had a greater faith in myself than I have had in God. How messed up is that? So, we begin again, wipe the slate clean, taking baby steps toward recreating a child-like faith and learn to REALLY trust our Father to provide all of our needs according to His riches in glory......

posted by The Hambleton Family @ 8:49 PM 0 Comments