Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Is asking for help good or bad?

I have a tendency not to ask for help when I need it. I suspect you may have this trait as well. The thing is that there have been times when it worked and other times when it did not. Once I needed some help moving a new 200 lb hot tub to the back yard. Did I wait for help? No way. I lifted it up on its side and stuffed a piece of cardboard under and slid it. This resulted in a big gouge in the plastic side!
On another occasion I needed to lift my aluminum teardrop camper off its base. I knew I needed help but instead moved forward. With a lot of thinking and planning I was able to accomplish my task. I remember standing back and feeling pretty good about myself.
So we have this double message in our world today. Be independent, self-reliant. At the same time recognize that you need others for your work, your family, your spiritual life.
I want to say that there needs to be a balance between these two positions. Sometimes we need to use our own God-given abilities to solve problems. And there are times when we need to ask God and others for help. As we move into the Lenten season may we discover that balance that makes sense for us.

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