It's Ok to Fall, and It's Ok to Receive Assistance.

So, I went to reconciliation again  last night.  Ahhh, that feels better...  AAHH wait!!?!  I forgot to confess some things!  Have you ever done that?  Gone in with an idea of what you're going to confess, then get really focused on one or two things and then draw a big blank and only get through some part of your "list?"  Maybe I should have turned right around and gone back, but I guess those failings will have to wait until next go 'round.  I'm sure there will be more sins I can list in another couple of weeks.  Maybe it is time for me to go more regularly than the two or three times a year I go.  I could certainly use his mercy and grace more often these days!

At any rate, the recommendation of the priest tonight made so much sense to me, that I'm not sure why I didn't think of this myself.  Going to confession tonight not only gave me God's great mercy, grace and love, but it also gave me a fresh perspective on how to work through my current difficulties.  He simply said, "Don't piggyback everything on top of each other.  Take it one day at a time.  Deal with what you HAVE to."

"Don't piggyback!"  Ok, he probably knows me better than I think he does.  I definitely do this.  Maybe a lot of us do and that's why he recommended this for me.  One bad thing happens, then I worry about other things it could potentially lead to, and what may happen from there and on and on and on.  The freeflow thinking can be limitless when your mind gets rolling.  Stress abounds.  If I were to stop piggybacking, maybe I wouldn't exponentially increase my stress levels and get so angry or upset.  What a good recommendation! 

"One day at a time!"  Isn't that all we really can do?  While we can try to plan ahead, things don't always work out how we hope they will.  We have to learn to deal with the here and now.  Just take it as it comes.  Meet each day with it's hope and potential and do the best you can with it.  Another home run!

"Deal with what you have to!"  Let everything else that is non-essential just roll right off your back.  Sometimes taking such a limited approach seems like you are doing only what you have to in order to get by without going above and beyond.  But sometimes, even just doing only what you have to is what helps you to get through it all.  Sometimes taking on more than what is essential can be just too much.  Less is more.  I definitely like that one!

We all have our moments when we we fall.  Even Jesus did!  Think about that - Jesus who was truly God, but also truly man, fell under the burden of his cross.  Jesus has walked our walk, felt our pain, endured suffering, been tempted by the devil.  Yes, He IS God, but He knows what it is to be human.  We need to remember that when Jesus was carrying his cross up to Calvary, he fell, not once, not twice, but three times.  He got back up, and, perhaps more importantly, he received assistance - Simon helped him carry his cross - after the first time he fell.  I think sometimes our pride is hurt when we have to rely on others for assistance.  We like to feel like we can do it all.  Our society tells us that we should do it all.  But sometimes, we have to be humble enough to admit that it's ok to fall, and it's ok to receive assistance. 

Not only is it a good lesson for us - this learning that it's ok to fall and it's ok to receive assistance - but if you have children, as we do, it is a good lesson for them as well.  Our children learn from us, like it or not.  When they see us fail, they will see how we cope with that failure.  They will see us humbly admitting our faults.  They will see us learn how to get up again, pick up the cross and continue on.  They will learn how to accept the love and compassion from others who help us in our time of need.  They will learn that failure does not equal defeat.

So, don't feel like you to have to go it alone.  If there is a Simon in your life ready to assist you, don't be afraid to humbly take him up on it.  He may be able to lighten your burden.  And if you see no personal individual assistance at the ready, go to God.  Take it to Him and he will assist you, maybe in ways you never thought possible.