Help Wanted

Yesterday, while in Aldi, there was an elderly white woman in front of me at the checkout. She had a lot going on in that basket, but she was frail and old, so I offered to help. I grabbed the case of pineapples she had and placed them on the belt.
"Oh no honey," she said. "Those don't go there, place them here." And with that, she moved them to the back of the belt.
I noticed she had a case of boxed evaporated milk on the bottom of her cart. She bent down.
"I'll grab those for you ma'am," I said.
"Oh no honey, I'll do it myself, but thank you anyway."
In a slight panic, I responded, "Please don't lift that box ma'am."
Looking at the cashier in despair, I asked, "Can you scan those from where they are so she doesn't have to lift them?"
"I surely can," replied the bubbly cashier (BTW: I love Aldi cashiers!).
After she was completely checked out, a young father holding his toddler asked the woman if she needed help to her car.
"No honey, that's okay," she said with the same spunk as earlier. "I can do it."
Handing his pretty baby girl off to her mom, he said to the old woman, "I hear you, but I'm probably going to walk out with you anyway."
When they got to the car, he lifted the pineapples and the milk into the trunk for her, Then, he returned her basket (and ran her quarter back to her).

I thought about me. I thought about God. I thought about you. I thought about God. I thought about me and others and you and others. So many of us are overly independent. We are so used to being on our own and doing things ourselves that we don't accept help. We have been a single mother for so long that when we date a nice man who offers to help, we reject it. We have been successful at our jobs for so long that when a co-worker offers to help on a project, we reject it. We have planned so many events and pulled off so many things with no one's help, that when it is offered, we don't know how to accept it.

I don't know about you, but I'm like this in so many ways. Being the only child for 7 years and the oldest of 4, you learn to do a lot on your own. I can clean an entire house in 2 hours flat- by myself. I can pack an entire house in less than a day-by myself. I can plan and execute an entire unit flawlessly-by myself. That said, it can sometimes be hard for me to accept other people's help. Just like this sweet little white lady at Aldi.

It's funny though. God created Adam and then specifically said this: It is not good for man to be alone. No man is an island! So many of us are bogged down with full plates and no more space but still more to pile on because we don't ask for help. Some of the best leaders are the kind who do what? Delegate responsibility. Delegation is the transfer of responsibility into small pieces from the larger whole. Basically, many hands make for light work. Having others to help is what makes for the best situation in our lives.

Relinquishing responsibility for someone to help is a matter of trust. So basically, when we don't seek help or receive it when it's offered, we are saying we don't trust the other person. In the words of both Michelles from Full House: HOW RUDE! If you have been stressed at work and your boss offers to help you finish that last bit so you can get home, TAKE IT! If you have been overwhelmed by that baby or those kiddos and a good friend asks to take them off your hands for the day, LET THEM! If you have a lot of ripping and running to do for the birthday party and a family member offers to pick up some of the items, RECEIVE THAT! We were not designed to work alone all the time. There are times when we need help. Sometimes that help is clearly divine and only God can do it. Other times, God places the right people in the right places at the right time, but we have to be willing enough to ACCEPT IT!

As I reflect on how much help that woman attempted to turn down and how much help still came her way, it helped me see more clearly that sometimes God wants us to take a load off. I especially think about how our independence can even interfere with God's help. The young man walked her out to her car against her wishes. He didn't forcefully take her basket or push her aside, he walked by her side. Allowing her to be as independent as she wished until he saw her struggling. After that, she trusted him to take the basket back for her and bring her back that quarter! The same thing goes for us. Sometimes, God makes sure that we have all the help we need, even when we don't want it. Sometimes, He just walks beside us and waits until He sees us start to struggle. Then, He reaches in and helps us, right on time. After that, we start to trust Him more and more to lighten our load.

Matthew 11:28 says, "Come to me all who are weary and heavy laiden and I will give you rest." My prayer for us today is that we take help when it is offered. That we learn to delegate and trust others to be responsible enough to get things done, even when we know we could do it ourselves. I pray that we let God use His other creations to ease our own burdens. I pray that we receive all the help God has available to us. I pray that we even begin to trust and accept so freely that we reach a point where help doesn't even have to be offered because we are unafraid to ask for it. Be Blessed. XOXO