It's Not About the Passport

If you are facebook friends with me then you are aware (because I have sent out a million posts over the past 24 hours) that I have been having "issues". Mike, Erin, Shannon and John all left town last week leaving me here with Abigail, Rebekah, Josiah, Evan, Maddy and Caitlin (a just-out-of-high-school friend of Shannon's who is here working with an orphanage in Armenia). I didn't mind being left alone. It's just I know that I have a tendency to get a little overwhelmed when all the kids are coming at me needing something at the same time. And, I was banking on it only being less than a week and Shannon would be back. AND, I have our dear friends, The Hines, here that I can call on at anytime. So, I was set....or so I thought.

It all started to unravel before John even left. Abigail came down with shingles. Already I could feel myself getting overwhelmed, I hate when my kids are sick and I am helpless to help them. Thankfully, she responded well to the meds and made a quick recovery. Just as she was recovering and going back to school, Evan started coughing (which always makes him hardER to handle). The day Shannon was due to return she discovered that due to a lack of the yellow fever vaccine she could not enter Honduras for 10 days (she was returning from Peru). The next day Bek started getting sick. On Tuesday I was called to come and get her from school and she spent the next two days home with me. A day later Abigail started sneezing and complaining of burning eyes and a headache. This whole time Josiah was suffering with a mouth full of blisters. And then....

Our lawyer called me and told me that immigration had lost Josiah's passport. Meaning: John is in the States. The kids and I are scheduled to fly next week to join him and attend his sister’s wedding. I can't obtain a temporary emergency passport for Josiah without John. We're stuck in Honduras.

Overwhelmed - YES! But, God had already been preparing me. That morning I woke up with the song "I will lift my eyes" by Bebo Norman in my head. In my Bible Study that morning (a study on the Psalms by Beth Moore) I read this: "I am thoroughly convinced that God times our thematic journeys into His Word to speak into the experiences He knows in advance we will have. Daily living is such a concoction of pain and pleasure." As soon as the lawyer called I started singing:
"I will lift my eyes to the Maker of the mountains I can't climb. I will lift my eyes to the calmer of the oceans raging wild. I will lift my eyes to the healer of the hurt I hold inside. I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You!" Did I mention that we were also dealing with Hurricane Rina?

I not only hit my knees I hit the keyboard and asked everyone to start praying. The lawyer was as distraught as I was and didn't sleep at all, spent all night praying. Immigration was adamant that the loss happened with us. We were adamant that the problem was with them. Long story made short, she returned to immigration this morning and there was Josiah's passport! Her son told her, "Mom this is a sign from God to you. You haven't been to church with Grandma and me in two weeks. You should go to church." She told me she was going to church this Sunday. And the praising started (it should have never stopped.)

And then....I went to the ATM to withdrawal money to pay our rent before I leave. The machine kept my card. I told the guard who told me I had to go to the downtown branch. The downtown branch told me the atm didn't belong to them and there was nothing they could do. Finally, I was able to get some phone numbers for the company that supposedly owned the atm - which were no help. They didn't own it either; they didn't know what to do. And the praising ceased - how quickly I forget the good that God does and IS; how quickly I begin to focus my eyes on the raging water around me and not on the ONE who calms the sea.

I drove to our neighbor's. A sweet Honduran couple who owns a local coffee shop/souvenir store. As soon as I got out of the van and saw him I began to bawl like a baby. I am sure he thought someone was hurt or something horrible. No, just a simple stuck debit card. He made several calls and found out where we needed to go/who we needed to talk to. Then he drove with me and talked to the right person. I still don't have my card. They are going to try and get it tomorrow. I honestly don't know if I will get the card back tomorrow or not. Have no clue if I am going to be able to pay my rent on time. If I will be able to fly out with my debit card. But, of this I do know:

I am the daughter of THE KING. The ONE who watches over and cares for me. The ONE who has a plan and a purpose. The ONE who knows when I feel alone and helpless. The ONE who reminds me that I am never alone and always loved. That, yes, I am helpless, but He is NOT!

Passport or no passport. Debit card or no debit card. When the world feels overwhelming yet will I praise the Maker of heaven and earth. I WILL lift my eyes!