Giving to others….

I suppose I have always wanted to help other people through my life, but my training and experiences as a Social Worker, have made this even more important to me. As I often say to people who have similar natures and find themselves in need of support, it is often the ‘givers’ who struggle with being ‘receivers’.

I have learned to accept help when I need it and most important of all, to recognise for myself that I need help and ask for it! I admit I don’t ask for help often, so when I do if people don’t respond and don’t offer their assistance I get really ticked off. That is because people who know me, should know that asking for help doesn’t come easily.

I was talking to someone the other day that I am trying to support through their own health issues. As we know each other well, they know of my many ailments and diagnoses. While I was talking to them recently they said to me, ‘You’ve got your own things to deal with, don’t worry about me!’ However, as I told them, when I am helping others and thinking about others, it takes me away – at least for a while – from being totally immersed in my own issues.

I was visiting relatives this weekend and I’m not sure how it came up, but I started to talk to them about a thing a Counsellor once told me about and that is ‘Acts of Service’. The way they relayed it to me, was that for some people saying ‘I love you’ may be difficult for them. However, they can say I love you in other ways. My husband as an example, will check my tyre pressures, my water and oil and check in with me if I have taken my medication. They are just some of the ‘Acts of Service’ – his ‘I love you’s’ – in the form of actions. He’s pretty good at saying the words as well, by the way…

For me, my ‘Acts of Service’ are often in the form of baking. We had some relatives round for morning tea and I got up at 6.00am to bake muffins, so that they were cold enough to ice before 10.00am. The family all enjoyed them and it made me happy to sit around the table with people I love and care for, sharing muffins and stories and laughter.

I hope that I will be able to bake and care for those I love for many years to come. I am blessed to have some pretty wonderful people in my life. I hope that when it comes time for me to be in need of more help, that I can be gracious and accepting of that help.

Hopefully, this ‘giver’ will embrace being a ‘receiver’ when the time comes.