Asking for help
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2 NIV
God does have a sense of humor, doesn’t He? It makes me smile to look back at times in my life when I know He wrote the chapter just to prove I needed more than my own 2 hands! None are quite so obvious as having 3 babies at the same time.
Those first 2 years, I carried 3 kids a lot, and yes, sometimes all at once; to their cribs, to the recliner, to their table to eat, outside to play, to and from the car. It was a big, wiggly, job.
And I’ve always liked to go after most things in life like I do carrying those 3 babies around- by myself, relying on my own strength, without the burden of needing anybody else.
I don’t know if I asked for help much when I was little. As a teenager and young adult, I know I tried to do a whole lot on my own. Needing help felt weak.
Having triplets, and then 4 under the age of 4, made it glaringly obvious that I had an issue with pride.
I would have rather made healthy and beautiful meals daily, had a perfectly clean and tidy home and been well rested in fresh clothes with my hair washed every day. But in those days with little to no sleep, wonderful people brought us yummy food and stayed to play despite the mess of myself, our kitchen sink full of dishes, a trash can full of diapers and floors covered in toys.
Do you know what I found? The only one going in and out our door that expected me to have it all together, was me!
During those early times, with new babies, God taught me to reach out. Even when I wasn’t quite sure I needed the help, I would still ask. And now that the girls are a little older, and their needs continue to change and in some ways get bigger (emotions anyone?), I'm glad God already has me warmed up in this exercise!
I still need to remind myself of this sometimes, but I do know that asking for help and relying on others is not a sign of personal weakness. Needing others, or even just feeling brave enough to ask for help, has opened my heart to new memories and relationships. Where do you need to ask for help these days? And is it just me, or does it really feel brave to reach out for help when you're feeling vulnerable?
Carrying the 3 littles, October 2013.
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