The Comfort Whereby I Am Comforted

Also, we were staying a place that was priced well for three days, but not for three weeks. We knew if Dawn was going to stay, she would have to relocate and she immediately began researching good options, and, thankfully, found one. You can’t do that if you’re panicking.

I’m not saying Dawn and I reacted in the only prescribed Godly way to react, but I will say that if you are facing trouble, it is better to let logic rule than emotion. I’m not silly enough to think that all emotion can or should be controlled all the time, but you should do what you can, and when you have a choice between a decision based on emotion and one based on reason, choose the reasoned approach. Emotion is a powerful enough influence on our actions without giving it free reign in times of crisis.

Accept help

When you are confronted with unusual circumstances, you must not try to cope with them in usual ways. Think about that for a moment. If we want to pry a board loose we might use a screw driver. But if we have a bigger piece of wood, we need a crowbar. You can’t do unusual work with the usual tools. Your life is yours to manage. Remember, you plan your path, but God devises your steps.

Last Tuesday, one of the steps God planned for Dad was to catch his toe and break his hip. The steps he planned for Dawn and me were to guide the car to the hospital rather than south toward Portland. We could not do what was required of us by holding on to our original schedule and budget, those tools no longer fit the job.

I would not be home for Wednesday evening re:Fresh and Dawn would not be able to devote herself to work at AFC.

As a result

• Someone offered to cover Wednesday evening

• Someone offered to cover Dawn’s calls

• Someone offered to feed our cat

• Someone offered us a reduced rate hotel for a couple days

• Someone offered the use of their business center

• Someone else let both of us stay for two nights while paying for only one

• Someone offered to take Sunday service if necessary

• Someone offered to pick me up at the airport

This was help offered knowing that we were unprepared for what happened. In some cases it was people who knew or could imagine what it would be like to be in our circumstances. Others were God’s people stepping up to do God’s work, supporting their co-workers in the Faith.

It is unwise and prideful to reject help at times like this. We are called to do what we can for ourselves:

Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load. (Galatians 6:4-5 NIV)

It is healthy and good for our own emotional well being to do what we can for ourselves, but we should also not reject special help in special situations.

because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me. (Philippians 2:30 NIV)

Paul accepted help when he was in dire straits and even when people put themselves out to help him, he did not deny them that blessing.