Our Need for Other People

If the only tool in your belt is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

Abraham Maslow

I heard this quote referred to the other day and I realized it reflects how we go about most things in our lives. Not only do we tend to see difficult situations through our own set of lenses, we react to them with what we know, and only what we know.

While this seems obvious, its implications may not.  Not every problem is the same.  And each may require different methods to solve, or at least manage it. That’s why we need other people’s perspectives.  Others also have strengths and abilities we lack. I Corinthians 12:18-20 tells us this as it talks about the church having many parts in order to make it whole so it can function as it should.  If they work together.

I like to see myself as independent. But having moved into my new place less than a month ago, I find that others' ideas and perspectives are invaluable, especially since organization isn't one of my strong suits. And receiving their help and ideas also blesses them. So perhaps interdependent would be a better word.

How 'bout you? How do you see this reflected in your life? Don't forget to join the conversation.

Drawing Us Back

                                                                                                                                                                                           

We know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us because Christ has poured out His love to us through the Holy Spirit.

Romans 5:3-5

In an instant I was dependent for everything. I was accustomed to being independent and working full-time. Work was intense, so I devoted all my time and energy to it. As a result, I put my relationship with God on the back burner, turning to Him only when I needed something.

Until everything changed.

I had a stroke. I’d always been self-sufficient and it was a real struggle to suddenly need help for 

everything. Dependence, in my eyes, was a weakness and I couldn’t accept this as my reality.

“Why did you let this happen, God?” I cried.

It took time, but I realized sometimes God allows problems and setbacks in our lives for reasons we don’t understand. For me, it was a physical battle. I needed to learn my weakness was in the failure to depend on Christ…my stubbornness to manage alone.

I could question God, ask why He would let this happen, or I could trust Him to do what’s best for me—even when I couldn’t see the purpose. Grappling with why He’d allowed this, yet trusting in His promise to never leave or forsake me was critical to maintain spiritual strength in the midst of life’s trials. He kept His promise and never left me.

These days I pray more, nurturing my relationship with Him. And, though it takes me time to surrender to His ways, His will, and His timing, the process brings me closer to Him. Even if the circumstances don’t change, I do. I relax as His peace enters my life.

Sometimes His purpose is simply to draw me back to Him.

If you’re facing trouble or hardship, call out to Him. He’ll be there.