Hello! I am so glad to be back after a little hiatus. 🙂 I don’t know about you but my soul needs a break from social media every once in a while. It’s so easy to get caught up in the world of social media… But anyways! It’s about to get real so hold your britches’ (as we like to say in Texas.) 😉

This year has been off to a pretty rocky start. Actually it’s sucked (stay with me, there’s a good ending!) January 2^nd my grandma fell and broke her femur. The hardest bone to break in the body, fyi. So to fix that, they inserted a plate and screws to repair the break. Two weeks later she went in for a check up and they discovered her body literally rejected the plate and 8 screws, which the surgeon had never seen. Then they find out, her leg is infected, with Staph nonetheless… So we had two options. Take out her knee, part of her femur, and part of her tibia, then place this cement ‘spacer’ in until her infection clears up OR amputation. So on January 23^rd she went in for the removal of her knee, part of her femur and tibia. In surgery they found out the infection was worse than first thought. So the next step is clearing up the infection then we can move on to a total joint replacement. But if her infection doesn’t clear up our only option is amputation.

It’s almost laughable. I mean she came in with a broken femur and now we’re talking about possible amputation?? How did it get this far? How did we get here? This wasn’t our plan.

I was listening to the City Church Podcast (one of my favorites) the other day and Pastor Judah was preaching a message called The Problem With Hope. The message is essentially saying without Jesus there is no hope. Without Jesus I have to reason to be positive. Without Jesus life sucks.

The point is that without Jesus as my rock I wouldn’t be able to make it through all this. Without Jesus in the waiting rooms with me I would be a mess. Without Jesus to put my trust in, I’ll be stressed out of mind worrying about what could happen. Unbelievers can try to be all positive or optimistic but let’s be honest; apart from Jesus there is no hope for a better tomorrow. Whenever I meet an unbeliever I wonder how they make it through the day. Seriously. Hebrews 6:16-20 says this,

“People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

Because of God’s nature, He cannot lie. It’s impossible for Him. And because He can’t lie we know that when He sent Jesus, the hope of the world, He wouldn’t leave us without hope! Jesus is the anchor for our soul that is firm and secure.

I share this because even if you don’t believe in Jesus, you may be a “positive person,” but that isn’t enough. You NEED an anchor for your soul. You can be a “good person” but you NEED an anchor for your soul. You NEED a firm and secure HOPE. Being positive is a bi-product of a relationship with Jesus.

As I sat in the waiting room while my grandma was in surgery I started to think about this. I would be a mess without hope in Jesus. He calms my storm (Psalm 107:29.) He brings peace that surpasses ALL understanding (Philippians 4:7.) What are God!

 If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus and have any questions email me at thatotherhannahblog@gmail.com. Also if you have any prayer requests email me at thatotherhannahblog@gmail.com. Happy Monday!

Always,

Hannah

More verses about hope:

“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17 NIV

“Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.” Romans 5:2-7 NIV