How to Help the Ones Who Help Us

This coming Monday is the start of National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. I am proud and honored to be a part once again of this annual event.

On Tuesday at 3 pm PST I will be speaking and answering questions about how we can help those who help us on blogtalkradio.com. You can click on the link to the right of this post in order to get to the NICIAW website and go directly to the scheduled talks.

No matter what political party you belong or adhere to, or how you choose to vote, you may have heard or watched Senator McCain giving his acceptance speech last night. He said something to the effect that he was cocky until he spiraled to the ground from his plane into enemy hands where an angry crowd awaited him. He related that he became even more changed when he was put in a cell with two other prisoners who fed him because he couldn't himself.

I relate this because his experience of being broken when he needed help is one that is universal to mankind. When we need the help of others to handle basic living all the strength and self reliance we depend upon is immediately depleted.

And how we accept the help of others and incorporate it into our lives makes all the difference in how they feel about assisting us. Though I am usually, as I am now, able to do almost anything as long as I walk with forearm crutches, when I travel to speak across country I depend on others to assist me at events. I depend on people to drive me to speaking engagements as well, though I drive near home. How I ask for help, showing appreciation for and trying to understand how my helpers might feel regarding things, influences how we get along. When I need help in our home the assumptions I make and how I communicate my needs reinforces or depletes the relationship warmth we maintain among us.

Jesus wasn't afraid to ask his disciples to accompany him in his time of need in the Garden of Gethsemane. He models for us behavior that often needs to be learned.

How we help the ones who help us will be the basis of my talk on Tuesday. If this is something you'd like to explore, please join Lisa and me on blogtalkradio.com!

Learning how to help others who help me . . .

Have a great weekend!

Jo