On an average day I do all sorts of things without a thought: dishes, laundry, organizing, driving, reading. And most days I think I’m fine, I don’t need any help. I am a functioning adult after all, I can handle life. Of course everyone has a day when things go wrong and I shouldn’t stress about that either, it’s normal. But well yesterday things went wrong and it taught me a lesson. You see, I am a proud person, I love to help others. I’ll listen to your problems, pray with and for you, help you move, or buy you a chocolate shake, whatever you need. But when I need help, it’s hard to ask for it. I’ve struggled with this all my life. I even remember once on a youth trip that I was having a hard time being homesick and finally opened up about it and cried like a baby. But instead of feeling worse for crying, I actually felt better, and I knew the people around me cared about me.
So fast forward to yesterday. I had spent the day doing some work, meeting up with friends, discussing life and it’s problems and joys. Like usual, I didn’t talk too much about myself. (Remember that pride thing I mentioned). So I got home and just got the details on a big project I needed to start working on when my sister asked me to drive her to a chiropractor appointment. This is a fairly normal occurrence in my house, so I said sure, grabbed the keys and drove over to the medical center. We went inside and as we waited quite awhile for her to see the doctor, I started wishing I had brought a few boxes in the car that I could start organizing while my sister was waiting, or getting adjusted. But I hadn’t, so I contented myself with drawing with a new app on my phone. By the time we left the building, I had already been gone an hour and I wanted to get home and get some work done.
But when I reached in my pocket, there were no keys. I wondered if they fell out somewhere inside, but no, when I glanced inside there they were, snug in the cup holder. I shivered, for I hadn’t had the sense to grab a jacket and the temperature had dropped in the last hour. I knew there wasn’t another set of keys, my family had never gotten around to buying a spare, so I started calling. I started with parents and eventually got around to a Roadside Assistance hotline, which in turn called a company in the city where I live. And finally after lots of waiting, calls, texts, and more waiting, someone was on the way to open the car for me.
I was trying not to be too upset, but come on, I never forget to check my pockets, why in the world did I leave the keys in the car? I should have put them in my pocket. My sister remembered seeing me put them down and thinking it was odd, but she didn’t say anything and we both forgot about it until we found the car was locked and I had no keys. And I couldn’t wait outside because now it was getting dark and very cold. I had already called lots of people, but I asked my sister to call one more person, my brother, to come bring me a jacket. And when he came, I lost it. I started crying. I was just so stressed out by the whole situation and tired of being the “adult” who had to handle everything. Having him come, helped me let go of that pride and overflow with thankfulness that someone cared about me too and that if I ask for help, it’s okay.
I couldn’t help but think of the country song “You Find Out Who Your Friends Are.”
So my brother stayed with us till the locksmith showed up, and broke into my car. Eventually we all made it home and went back to life as normal. But that whole event reminded me that I’m not perfect, I make mistakes, I’ll need to ask for help sometimes, and that’s okay. There are people that still love me and will help me face the hard times, all I need to do is humble myself and ask for help.
NovelSisters 