A Lesson in Helping

21May10

I learned a great lesson two weeks ago. I had a really hard week because, in the midst of sleep deprivation and adjusting to caring for two small children simultaneously, Nick caught strep throat. Emmersen was five weeks old and not sleeping well at night. Four hours of sleep was considered a good night. And Bri, well, she was just being a normal 18 month old…rowdy, busy, messy and loud!

Since strep throat is transmitted by contact, Nick could not touch me or either of the girls, which meant he couldn’t help with Emmersen at night. This meant it was up to me to care for both girls (all day and all night) and a hubby who had a fever, body aches and could barely eat. Needless to say, I was stressed out, overwhelmed and exhausted.

One morning mid week, I got a call from my sister. She called to check on us and I gave her a brief rundown of how we were doing. It was a short call, since she was at work and very busy. About ten minutes later, she called back and said, “I’m taking half a day off work and will be at your house in fifteen minutes to help you.” In exactly fifteen minutes, she walked in the door and proceeded to pick up my living room, clean up my kitchen and help me tackle the loads of laundry I hadn’t managed to get to that week. Wow!! After that, she took Bri out for ice cream and to the pet store so I would only have to take care of Emmersen and Nick.

The actions of my sister were a huge blessing in a time of need. She inconvenienced herself and used her resources (vacation time) on us. Her actions were also a stark contrast to the actions of another family member who knew what a difficult time we were having, had no job and could have helped far more easily. This person never took the initiative to help and only gave help one time when it was requested. As a result, we received virtually no help from this individual.

This is the lesson my sister taught me…when someone needs help, just get in there and help them. Be proactive. Instead of sitting around waiting for the person to call and ask for help, take the initiative and do what you can to assist. That is how you help someone.

Filed under: Uncategorized   |  1 Comment