Being on the Receiving End
Mollie surprised me. I was a poor college student, barely able to pay my way, and I lived pretty much hand-to-mouth. I was grateful, just to be able to go to college, to study Bible and speech. I never discussed my needs with anyone, and, should anyone ask how I was getting along, I would say, “Fine,” and I really meant it.
I was thankful for anything I got. During my college years, as well as the years thereafter, God has taught me this thankful spirit. (I Ths. 5:18) I have never been rich in this world’s goods, and I probably never will be. Perhaps God has given me this lot in life; I happily accept it.
Then Mollie hit me. It was during my senior year at Lipscomb. She was a faithful Christian single mother, raising three boys to know the Lord. She was in a couple of my Bible classes. She probed, asking about my earthly needs, and I eventually told her about my near-destitute situation. “Have you asked anybody for help?” she asked. Preaching students typically get support before they go off to school. I had not, nor had I planned to ask for help. I was “working my way through” college.
“Dan, I think you’re prideful,” Mollie said, “too proud to admit your need to anyone.” Wow! That hit me “like a bombshell!” Pride is something I have fought within since I was a teenage Christian. I really thought I was past that flaw, but Mollie saw it.
Dad had raised us to be responsible, financially independent, and a burden to no one. Dad gave us these ideals, but they convey a “bootstrap,” I-don’t-need-anybody mentality. Suppose the ideal cannot be met; would I have the honesty to admit it? Would I have the vulnerability to ask for help? Is it pride that would keep me from finding relief?
It takes a sense of humility to receive anything, spiritual or physical, from anybody. It’s an admission of helplessness, of weakness.
Over these past two weeks since my surgery, I have been physically weakened. My sweet Metro Family knows this, and you have covered for me in my absence. I am thankful to Mike, Paul, and Bill for preaching, when I could not stand and I could not speak. I am thankful for those of you who sent cards. I am thankful for the beautiful bouquet of flowers, that brightened my sick room and made my heart “bloom”. I am thankful to all of you who prayed for me. Humbly, I needed you. Wonderfully, you came through. Thank you, ever so much!
Dan
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