Help

A friend called for help yesterday. She wasn't necessarily asking me for help, but I was available, so I told her I would take care of what she needed. It was minimal inconvenience and it has been rewarding, after all, hearing the giggles of four little girls being tucked into bed can do amazing things for filling hearts. My friend has been so grateful and it has me thinking a lot about help.

Why do we help? Why do we not help? What makes someone or something worthy of help and other someones or somethings unworthy? For Mattie and I, it's hardly a question. If we are able, if we aren't completely bogged down, if we are asked, we help. Sometimes we don't even wait to be asked (which can probably be annoying to some recipients of our help), but we are both so eager to answer the call. We help because it is what God wants us to do and because we are nourished by it. Furthermore, we help because there have been times we needed help and it's really hard to humble yourself to ask for help and hear nothing in response. We help in hopes that the "pay it forward" system will reach back to us when we are in need. We help because we love.

In the movie, Yes Man, Jim Carrey's character is charged with saying "yes" to everything. It has huge repercussions, both good and bad, on his life. I don't want to encourage readers or my family to say yes to everything, but I am charging you with a task. Say yes to something in the coming days. Open your eyes, heart, and mind to people around you. Look for ways to help, listen for cries for help, and put it on your heart to say yes when a chance to help appears. Say yes. It may be uncomfortable, it may "put you out", but doing good for others always pays off in the end!