Can we talk?

It was winter, 1993 and our baby girl, Caitlin, was almost a month old. Our tiny daughter had two big brothers, six year old Max, and thirteen-month-old Samuel. I remember feeling so blessed....and so frazzled. I looked around our small, usually tidy house, and a quiet despair washed over me. Dirty dishes were piled high in the sink, toys were everywhere in the small room that served as our dining/living/playroom, and several baskets of clean clothes graced the dining room table. "How will I ever do this?", I wondered. How will I ever be able to balance home, marriage, children, school, church...?

At church that Sunday, a friend asked how it was going. (She probably didn't need to ask, the dark circles under my eyes told the story pretty well.) I told her I wasn't sleeping more than a couple of hours a night, the house was pretty much upside down, and I couldn't figure out when to take a shower! She looked at me with compassion, and Experienced Mom Wisdom and said "My girls and I would like to come help." "Oh....no, that's not necessary....I'll figure it out" I said, embarrassed at the thought of anyone coming to our house. But she insisted, and a few days later my friend and her girls showed up at my door with buckets, gloves, mops and brooms, and went to work on my much-neglected house. I'll never forget how I felt that day, those precious friends washing my dishes, cleaning my dirty sinks and floors, and folding our laundry. To say I was humbled would be a pretty big understatement. Their gift of a clean, organized house was priceless!

But here's the real "get" from this story: I took a risk, and told my friend what was really going on in my life. What if I had said what women often say to each other when we're too proud to ask for help: "I'm fine"? No help would have been given or received, and we all would have missed a blessing. Are you a young mom struggling to balance all the new demands on your time? Are you hesitant to ask for help? I hope my story lets you know you're not alone. I hope you'll be open with someone-your women's or small group at church, a local MOPS group, a neighbor or friend-about your needs. I hope you won't say "Fine" when someone asks how it's going. Because the moment you admit you can't do it all by yourself, help is on the way. So....can we talk?

Daily Verses:

Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. Gal 6:2 NLT

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. ¹⁰ If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Eccl 4:9-10 NLT

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, help me to be humble rather than proud, and to ask for help when I need it. Help me connect with other moms, my neighbors, a church family so I can experience the joy of a life lived in community with others, a life where burdens are shared. Help me to encourage someone else in the way I have been encouraged. In Jesus name, Amen.