Asking for help is hard for most people. And I am no exception. Earlier this week, I tripped on the road in front of my mailbox. Like a toddler just learning to walk, I scraped both my knees -bad! I needed help cleaning and bandaging it up. While I felt like a big baby, I just couldn’t reach to see if I was getting all the dirt. I needed help. My daughter and her boyfriend were so gracious in helping – for two days!
I can only imagine that people who walk into my counseling office often feel the same. Admitting you can’t do something or solve something on your own often makes people feel weak. Yet, it is strength that allows us to see we cannot do everything on our own!
What a gift that we are all not the same and we have different strengths and weaknesses. At 5 feet tall, I cannot reach all my kitchen cabinet shelves or reach to put luggage in overhead bins in an airplane. But at 5 feet short, I can easily fit in airplane seats with plenty of leg room!
Whether we need help because of physical mental characteristics, the fear of asking is often of the unknown of how others will respond. What we are missing is the fact that when we allow others to help us, we give them a gift – the gift of giving and sharing their abilities and talents.
As you journey along your path, may you find yourself helping others as well as being helped when needed!