You Have Not Because You Ask Not...

The past few days, my emotions have been taking a ride that looks a lot that roller coaster over there...up, down, twisting, turning, upside down!  I've got so many, many things going really well in my life right now.  But I've also got some very stressful things happening in my life right now, too.  Who doesn't, really?  Isn't that life for all of us?!  Well, I felt very overwhelmed by this yesterday and knew I needed help to handle it.  I was feeling slightly desperate, so I got online to my social networks and asked people who know me and love me to pray.  Just pray.  No need to know the circumstances...no need to have the details.  Just pray for me.  And guess what?  They did!  So many people responded to my request and let me know that they were lifting me up. I'm confident that more prayed without letting me know they were, too.

I was actually very stunned.  I know I have extraordinary friends.  The fact that they lavished such love on me was not a surprise at all!  But this is not something I do a whole lot...ask them to pray for me...or really to do anything for me.  I don't really ask for many things in life.  I usually feel pretty self-sufficient.  I offer to help a lot...but I seldom reach out for help myself. 

But the more I think about that, the more I think I'm missing out on something huge.  I think there's some power in asking for help when we need it instead of trying to go it alone.


Another of my friends on Facebook reached out yesterday for help, too.  She had been losing weight, but this summer her routine sorta fell apart and put back on some of the weight she'd lost.  She asked for someone to help her get back on track and hold her accountable.  How incredibly brave of her to reach out to her friends like that!  This friend is going to get herself back on track with the help of me and her other friends...because she was bold enough to ASK.

The Bible does make it clear that we have not because we ask not.  But at least for me, I know that for me to get to the point to ask for much of anything, I have already exhausted all my own resources.  But why wait that long?  Why not use every resource I have available to help me BEFORE I get to the point of being overwhelmed?  I mean, I know that some things in my journey are things I can only do for myself.  But what if the next time I didn't feel like going to the gym, I called a friend and asked him or her to go with me?  Or what if when I was tempted by a dessert that I know I don't have room for in my calorie limit, I asked a friend for a stick of sugar-free gum?  Couldn't I save myself a lot of stress and upset if I got help earlier in my situations, rather than wait until the point of desperation?  I'm thinking the answer to that is a resounding YES!

I don't know if I'm going to be brave and bold enough to ask for things easily or frequently.  It's never been part of my nature to do so.  But I am going to try to do this more often.  I think there's power in community coming together and loving on one another.  And thank you to all my friends who helped me out when I needed it this week.  My roller coaster ride is a lot more bearable right now...and I know that's because of you!