"Its's okay to screw up..."

I’ve heard it most of my life and I am sure you have to. “It’s ok to screw up, just don’t be a screw up”, in one of its many forms (some far more colorful).  It was even a mantra of sorts during my time in the fire service, and was uttered constantly during training, and around the fire house.  The meaning was clear while training on fire ground operations.  Learn, ask questions, put it into practice and do it all so well that it becomes second nature in time.  Nobody expects you to be perfect out of the gate but you can’t allow your lack of ability, knowledge or understanding to become a crutch.   You can’t allow the fear of looking foolish stand in the way of practicing or asking questions, because when it’s real and lives are on the line you don’t have room to screw up.

But that's not real life.   That's “just work”  Right?   Why is it so easy to see in our work lives but not in our “real lives”?   Where is the line that designates the transition from screwing up to being a screwup?   

I HATE asking for help.   During this transition we had to make several emotional decisions, leaving our friends, our family, our church, and our home which was more difficult than my words can describe (I have tried several times and been unable to do so).   But having to go to that same support network and ASK for help was nearly debilitating.  The fact that in order to do this amazing thing and run this journey would require (and continues to require) financial, moral, and emotional support on a regular basis.  How can I expect that from “others”?  

But I did it.  I reached out and the tidal wave of support was deafening.   The sheer volume of conversations I walked away from, unable to breath from the powerful words given to me was astounding.   The people that opened up their wallets to help cover expenses I will incur over the next few years, the number of people that stopped and prayed over me and my family, the phone calls and texts of encouragement that pour in.  and that was just in the initial stages of this move.   The fiasco that was and will forever be known as “the move”  (a story for another day but needless to say it was anything but seamless…) required even MORE help.  AND THEN we finally get here and some very dear friends of ours have been called on so often I dare say their lives have all but revolved around US for the last few weeks.    How many favors am I allotted before it becomes a crutch?

I will say this.   I have been through several seasons of life, and God willing I have a few more to get through before I go into the ground, shot into the sun, used as fertilizer to grow a tree in the amazon, or whatever the boys decide to do with me when I'm done.   I have been blessed to be able to be of some support to a person or two thus far, so I have been told, and I will do everything in my power to pass along an overflowing portion of what I have received in this season alone, along the way.  We all come across a time where we need someone to stand in the gap and that is okay. (I currently have a large army filling the void on my behalf and that number seems to be growing by the day!)

If you are in a warm season I pray you share that warmth in some way with others.   Whether you think they need it or not, because I assure you, it may not be evident that they are in a cool season.   Pray for them, check on them, HUG THEM!   Be willing to stand in the gap on their behalf.

If you are in a cool season, reach out!   Don’t try and navigate your way out alone while pretending everything is wonderful.  Don’t be afraid to look foolish.

This isn’t a training exercise.  THIS is real life, and we are in this thing together.  Someone's well being may depend on that conversation or hug.  

Mine did.