Article December 17, 2007 Issue

RESISTANCE TO ASSISTANCE?

Accepting help with grace and love

BY LARK RODMAN

Have you ever found it hard to ask for help? I have! Sometimes it would be over something simple like asking for directions or a small favor. Other times, asking others to help me when I wasn't feeling well seemed uncomfortable and difficult.

I'd seen how prayer-based treatment brings healing to physical difficulties. Still, when I was old enough to pray on my own, calling a Christian Science practitioner or talking to a family member was something I shied away from. I just kept things to myself. This often made me feel very alone, even though I was surrounded by a supportive, loving family.

Then several years ago, during a very active time in college, I began to feel ill. Within a couple of days, I couldn't eat anything, and I felt my energy slipping away. I took time to put God first each day by praying to know that He was in control, but I stubbornly refused to slow down my schedule or tell anyone that I was feeling bad. As I look back, this idea that I should plough through my activities and just "deal with it" wasn't at all helpful to my well-being.