Interconnectedness

I'm thinking tonight about life. How much of our journey on earth is about helping others.

Like it or not, (not for us independent types) we are not born self sufficient. We come into the world, totally and completely dependent on others for our care. At our mother's breast we learn to be loved and to love. Slowly, we learn the tools to launch our own ships into life's stormy seas.

There we float about weathering one challenge or another... but sooner or later we are again finding ourselves needing help. Who will provide it? Sometimes it is a ward member, a friend, a colleague or a family member. But that is the way life was designed. It was never intended to be a contest of showing our superiority or our fortitude as an island of strength. I believe it was about learning to share our gifts and to bear one another up. To help as many people as we could and likewise to be helped and to accept help.

Think about the ultimate accepting of help. The atonement. Really, the Savior gives to us the gift of complete help.... yet we struggle in vain at times to feel worthy to accept it from Him.

While reading about my favorite blogger Nie's harrowing brush with death in her latest book, (run on sentence anyone?) I became acutely aware of the many ways her recovery was made possible by the strength and support of her family. Her sisters took in her kids... her parents flew to her bedside and really never left... her siblings signed up to take turns sitting at her bedside when she was scared at night... her sister bought her a house to live in... and I could list many other examples of their help. Eventually they have been able to live and thrive without as much help, but their family's connectedness inspired me.

I want to be more connected to those I love. I want to serve and help my children with their problems. I do this already.. but I want to find joy and purpose in it. I want to see those little things I do for them daily as important acts of service to launch them into independence. (rather than lamenting the thousand calls and texts I get from them needing me to do things). I want to be better at doing this for friends and people in my ward. I want to be a better sister and daughter. I want my parents to know that they can count on me if they need assistance in their older years.

I also want to find ways to see my challenges more clearly and to be able to connect with people in a way that can help me while I am overcoming them. I want to use the best resources available.

It is not a weakness to need help.. or to be a help for those in need.