Today at work I was FREEZING cold. My partner was super hot, but I was soooooo cold. I had goosebumps and everything! It was getting to the point where I was miserable and it was hard to focus on work. A co-worker could tell I was freezing and said, "Brooklyn, why don't you just put on the cardigan you keep on the back of your chair?"
"Oh, I'm not THAT cold. It's not like it's the middle of winter or anything," I replied.
My co-worker looked at me like I was growing a mustache or something, but just said, "OK," and walked away.
Then I sat there, cold, and wondering why I wouldn't just put the cardigan on! I was obviously cold. My body obviously wanted warmth and comfort and I was denying it because I wasn't THAT cold.
I've been thinking about this today and I found a lot of parallels in our lives.
From the time we got married I told my husband that mental illness ran in my family and if it ever got bad enough I would go get help. Every time I'd have a panic attack, or a day where I couldn't get out of bed, or a mental breakdown, or a binge-eating coping episode I'd just say, "Well my anxiety and depression are not THAT bad. If it was bad I'd get help!"
When my husband was on the brink of losing his job we hid it from mostly everyone. We kept saying, "If it gets bad enough, we'll ask for help. It's not THAT bad."
The past two times we've moved my husband has moved us almost completely on his own. Both times our moving weekend fell on a previously scheduled activity with my family so I wasn't even there to help. He'd say, "Oh it's not THAT bad to move all our stuff."
WHY DO WE THINK THINGS HAVE TO BE BAD BEFORE WE ASK FOR HELP???!!!???
Why didn't I just tell my co-worker, "You're right!" and put my cardigan on to combat that cold! Why did I think I deserved to sit there freezing when help was right there waiting?? I'd prepared by having a cardigan that I leave on the back of my work chair in case it ever got too cold, but I wasn't willing to use it. IT DIDN'T MAKE ANY SENSE.
How often do we choose to not "bother" our Heavenly Father because our problems are not THAT bad? We think He must be busy with all the catastrophes going on in the world and that our problems are meaningless to Him. THIS IS NOT TRUE. THIS IS 100% LITERALLY SATAN TRYING TO KEEP US FROM GETTING THE HELP WE COULD RECEIVE JUST BY TURNING TO GOD!
The comparisons could go on and on and on and on and... well, you get it.
We have friends, family, and HEAVEN on our side. That's why we have the Atonement. That's why we have repentance. That's why we have a bishop. That's why we have the cardigan on the back of our chair. Because as soon as you feel a chill, you can put it on! You don't have to wait until you are freezing cold and there are icicles hanging from your nose!
So let's put our cardigans on. CHRIST IS THERE WAITING TO HELP US. OUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS THERE WAITING TO HELP US. Whether we are stressed out with school, frustrated with a spouse, feeling self-loathing for our actions, anxious about the future, or freezing cold in an elementary school...
PUT. THE. CARDIGAN. ON.
That's what it's there for folks. And don't worry, I did eventually put the cardigan on. And man, was it heavenly.
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