How To Get Help When You Need It The Most
Don’t be ashamed if you need to get help. We are not meant to struggle alone.
A woman emailed me to schedule an organizing session a couple of weeks ago. She said she’d been following me on my email list for a few years and wished she’d reached out a long time ago. She needed help.
I instantly loved her when I met her.
You know how God says He loves a humble and contrite heart? {Psalm 34:18; Psalm 51:17}
Her heart was tender and vulnerable. Hearts like that are easy to love.
She’d gone through a broken marriage and infertility and was now living on her own. Her dreams had not turned out like she thought they would at this point in her life.
During these hard times, she started thrifting. She loved finding a good deal and it brought her joy to spend her time searching for and purchasing deals.
Her home was getting cluttered. Boxes she had moved a year ago were still unopened. Laundry had piled up because her washing machine had broke a few weeks back and although she had gotten a new one she hadn’t caught up.
Depression crept in. She started to believe that she was a mess, that something was wrong with her.
Everything was overwhelming.
Finally, she asked for help.
She scheduled two organizing sessions with me.
She opened her home for me to see her clutter.
It’s such a vulnerable thing to allow someone into your space. To allow another person to see your underwear on the floor…to see your weakness…to witness your embarrassment and shame.
It takes courage.
Find the courage to ask for help today.
If you’ve been struggling, it’s time.
It may be uncomfortable.
But living broken and hurting is uncomfortable, too, right?
It may be embarrassing…for a short time; But, it is a joy for another person to use their gifts to help you and to glorify God.
Whatever the reason, it’s okay.
Another client had reached this point. Her father had passed away AND she had lost her job. She laid on the couch for almost two years. It was all she could do to take care of her little dogs. But, in the meantime, they had used the restroom all over her home. Things had gotten beyond disorganized. She hid it from everyone.
If this is you, the answer is to ask for help.
To be open and vulnerable.
Broken and seeking.
It’s a beautiful thing.
I think of Hannah when she came broken before the Lord, infertile and hurting.
Or, Jonah in Jonah 2 crying out to God.
Or, Paul pleading with God to remove the “thorn in his flesh.” {2 Corinthians 12:8-10]
If you’re hurting…
First, come broken before the Lord.
I know it doesn’t feel like it, but consider that your struggles are a beautiful thing.
Being humble and broken is beautiful in God’s eyes.
He has you in the palm of His hand. He cares for you. This is the exact moment He wants you to come to Him. He wants to care for you.
Then, be transformed from the inside.
Fill your mind with His word. A little each day, like good leaven, will change you from the inside out.
Don’t judge how well you do this. There isn’t a “good enough” way to get God’s Word in you. Allow Him to pursue you and heal you.
Finally, reach out and ask for help.
Seek help.
Don’t give up until you find what you need.
If your friends can’t help or your mom doesn’t know what to do, don’t give up. Keep seeking help until you find it.
Find a professional. A counselor or a life coach. Invest in your mental health. {You can schedule a free call with me here to see if coaching is right for you.}
Invest in the physical help you need. If it’s organizing, call a professional organizer. If it’s exercise, find a gym with classes you could take.
Be 100% willing to go all in. Even when it’s hard. Even when it seems impossible.
You WILL feel better one day.
When you are in the midst of hurting, you can’t see the possibility. You can’t imagine it can get better.
But, take time each day to ask yourself, “What if it IS possible?”
Allow (or force) your brain to imagine this possibility. What might it look like? Write about it for five minutes.
You are right where you should be.
Our suffering is caused when we think it shouldn’t be like this.
You ARE right where you’re supposed to be at this very moment.
How do I know? Because this IS where you ARE. It’s not by accident.
There is hope.
Accept where you are, even though it isn’t where you’d choose to be.
Ask for help.
Remember, it won’t always be like this.
Believing in you,
Tracy
