There is a burden so heavy on my heart. Several people I love very dearly are struggling. The issues are huge and their frustrations are great. I want to help.
Sometimes, helping is offering a hand up. Other times, to truly be a help, God calls us to back off and draw boundaries. The latter is especially difficult and comes coupled with grief and guilt.
I have been on both sides of this. There have been times when those who love me have had to draw hard lines in order for me to see clearly where I was and where I was headed. Nobody feels like a winner at the time those lines are drawn. Years later, I can see the necessity and blessing of that process in my own life, and I’m grateful I was so loved. That doesn’t make it any easier to be the line-drawer now.
There have also been times when I have needed a hand up. I can see many instances in my past where people have offered me opportunities or gifts or loaned me time or money in order to get me back on my feet and give me a boost. My present circumstances are no exception. The helping hands we have received lately have been numerous and overwhelming. We are grateful.
Receiving help is a tricky thing. Pride often gets in the way, especially if help has been needed and received before. The enemy can get in the way of our joy in receiving, and make us feel guilty that we have needs yet again. That we still haven’t gotten it right and can’t make it on our own. The gifts can then become salt in our wounds and further proof that we have failed.
Isn’t it grand, then, that we serve a God of second (and third, and fourth. . .) chances? Isn’t it amazing that He sees where we’ve been, sees where we are going, and uses others to steer and direct us? He surrounds us with people who love us dearly and are willing to walk those roads with us, backing up and re-routing when necessary, because they believe in us and know we can succeed.
Even as I am burdened for these people I love, I understand that I am the person for whom someone else is burdened. I am the recipient of someone else’s prayers and help and guidance. Just as God has me in place to help, He has others in place to help Me.
He’s got this covered, and I can trust Him.
