Recently, our three-year-old granddaughter drew a picture of herself surrounded by people she loves.
Then she explained it:
“This is me. I’m sad. And all these people are going to help me.”
She’s three.
And I haven’t stopped thinking about the simplicity of what she understood.
I’m sad.
I have people.
They can help me.
There was no contradiction between being herself and needing other people.
As adults, that can get more complicated.
We become capable women. We take care of families, solve problems, meet needs, and become the person others can count on.
And somewhere along the way, a Hidden Pattern can develop:
When being capable starts to mean handling things ourselves, needing support can feel like we’re not capable enough.
So we keep carrying.
We tell ourselves, I’ve got it.
We may readily show up for someone else while finding it surprisingly uncomfortable to let someone show up for us.
But needing support doesn’t erase our capability.
God didn’t design us to move through life completely self-sufficient. He gave us relationships, families, communities, and people who can walk beside us.
Maybe part of becoming steadier is learning that both things can be true:
I am capable.
And I don’t have to do this alone.
My granddaughter’s picture reminds me that receiving help doesn’t have to be complicated.
Sometimes we can simply recognize:
This is hard.
These are my people.
I can let them help me.
Reflection
Where might you be carrying something alone simply because you’re accustomed to being the capable one?
