Humility 101

As we continue to wait for the day of Haley's surgery, I am continually humbled and amazed at how many people are caring for us. I had a little time to run errands to the grocery store yesterday with my daughter-in-law and we ran into several people who told us that they were following Haley's blog and praying hard for her total recovery. This was so kind and I began to realize the magnitude of the reach of social media. She has been put on prayer chains of churches all over the country. All I can say is, WOW! And, we continue to have folks come to the house every day and care for her. Our neighbor, Roger, walks our precious dog, Lucy, several times every day and mows our lawn at least twice a week. Such a blessing.

I have been thinking about how humbling it is to receive. We all feel uncomfortable with it. We think, "I'm not worth their ____________ (time, attention, talent, money, etc.)" or "How can I return their kindness?" or "This is so embarrassing!" "They saw my dirty _________ (bathroom, kitchen floor, oven, laundry room, etc.)" For me, I would much rather be the one doing the giving. It feels more comfortable to me. But we are in a season where we are needy. Very needy. I cannot physically take care of my own daughter. I have an injury to my back and have been in physical therapy since March and I cannot lift at all. I have to have people with her so I can work and shop and go to church. Being in this state can be very isolating, and sometimes we just need to talk with someone. And we have financial needs that go along with this type of condition.  At every turn, God has met our needs and we are humbled. But there is great freedom in this humility. I really have nothing to hide. You can come and clean my toilets or fold our underwear, even the ones with the holes!! It's OK because I know that you are in this with us and that you are loving us with the love of God, and He is glorified in it. (Besides, I bet you have toilets that sometimes need cleaning and underwear that needs folding, even if they don't have holes!!)

So this is where my thoughts have been lately. I am learning to become comfortable (or less uncomfortable) with letting others help. I trust that it is only for a season and that some day soon I can be on the giving side!

Haley is still hanging in there waiting for Wednesday. She had a visit yesterday from a sweet family from our church who have 4 little ones. They brought us dinner and stayed to visit. The kids crawled up in the bed with her. This is a picture of all four in the bed and another one of her holding the baby. So sweet to see her smile.