It’s a good reminder here that my mother rarely asked for help. She was highly independent, and even throughout her diagnosis, I was called to come to her aid in the most dire of situations (and even then, she wrestled with it). Missionary and author Elisabeth Elliot once wrote: “It is an unsettling business, this being made conformable to His death, and it cannot be accomplished without knocking out the props.”
She also gave little time to feeling sorry for herself and didn’t encourage it in others. She would express it to you much like Eugene Peterson does in James 1:2-4 in The Message: “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”
Tricia
PS. We still rely on Nathan for many things. She was right to call him.
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Today was one of those feel sorry for myself and Cliff couldn’t win no matter what he did days. Have you ever had a day like that? I don’t have many but they are creeping up on me a little too often. I need to learn to keep my guard up because it hits when I am least expecting it. In retrospect, I know what triggered this. There were about three or four things I wanted to do and couldn’t do for myself, and I needed to ask for help. As silly as it seems, my most immediate need/want was an electronic problem. I had recently purchased an Apple TV so I could watch movies on our television which previously I had only watched on my iPad.
Doing research on YouTube and Google still didn’t help me when I was setting it up. It wasn’t connecting with our wireless. Nate, our youngest grandson is my “go to guy” for these problems, even his two older brothers say “call Nate”. He had just helped a few days prior and I didn’t want to bother him again, I felt stuck and frustrated. I like taking care of things myself. I suppose it would be easy to make all kinds of life lessons out of this…but in the middle of it…really, who wants a life lesson?
This is the great part, sitting in my recliner trying to figure this out, Nate and Sonia bound in the front door. It was Nate to save the day. He let me know that he is always willing to help me out but he was not going to feel sorry for me, basically I needed to get over it. I love that about him. He fixed my electronics problem, spread around a little snail bait, they visited for a short time, and left me to enjoy my movies. Is that a great day or what?
Bragging a little and being extremely thankful, my family has been awesome. There is not one of them that hasn’t been there for me doing some chore (usually gardening); proving chocolate in a moment of desperation; helping me up and down the Lewis family path; or my brother-in-law Bob sawing five inches off my bed frame. Even Craig, ever so graciously offers me a glass of wine, I have to remind him I can’t drive (my wheelchair) under the influence.
–Susan