Wayne and I took two of our granddaughters to a church carnival this past weekend. This carnival was on a very grand scale with rides, games, jump houses and many other things. The girls were so excited.
One of the things they both wanted to do was go into one of the jump houses. These are the inflatable structures that come in many shapes and sizes. This particular jump house was shaped like a huge rectangle. In the middle of the rectangle was a much larger and higher inflated bubble. In other words, there was a track around the inflated bubble to which you could run completely around.
The bubble had ropes that ran from the top down to the bottom of the track. The goal was to be able to pull yourself up the rope to which the reward would be the opportunity to jump on the top of the bubble. It was definitely quite an accomplishment watching these kids pull themselves up the rope and be so excited at their achievement.
We stood in line with the girls to allow them to have a turn on this jump house. When they got to the front of the line the man in charge counted and allowed six children to enter the jump house. Our two granddaughters went in along with four other girls. All the girls looked to be somewhere between 6 and 13 years of age. Two of the older looking girls immediately climbed the rope to the top.
Lottie, our youngest granddaughter, is quite athletic and she was able to climb the rope quite quickly as well. I became a little concerned about Liza, our 10 year old granddaughter. She has some physical challenges that make activities that require arm or leg strength more difficult than most children. I was pretty sure she would not be able to pull herself up the rope and was concerned she would get upset about this.
I wanted to protect her from getting discouraged and feeling defeated. As I watched the older girls on top I noticed them telling someone below to grab the rope. The next thing I knew the girls were pulling Liza up as she held to the rope. My heart wanted to bust with joy when I saw Liza’s face after she was at the top. She was completely overjoyed and proud. It really didn’t matter to her that she had been assisted to the top - what mattered to her was that she was there.
I thought about those girls this week and God reminded me about the story in Exodus 17 where Moses and the Israelites were wandering in the desert. There was a group called the Amalekites who attacked them. The Bible says in Exodus 17:11-12, “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset.”
Moses got tired and Aaron and Hur saw that he was tired. They held up his arms to help him. The Bible doesn’t say Moses minded or felt bad about the fact that he needed assistance. He willingly accepted the assistance of others. I thought, that is exactly what Liza did. She knew she could not make it to the top of that bubble to jump but she willingly accepted some assistance from the other girls, and these were girls she didn’t even know.
It made me think how many times do I willingly accept the help of others. I don’t know about you, but this is a hard thing for me to do. Maybe it’s pride in thinking I’ll be perceived as being weak if I need help, maybe it’s fear, or maybe it’s just an insecurity I have.
The truth is asking or accepting assistance can be difficult for me. I am totally good with being the “helper” but I am not so good at being on the other end as the “helpee.” God really spoke to my heart about this through the situation with Liza. We should not be afraid or ashamed when we need assistance. We should willingly accept it. I really think God knew I needed to be reminded of this.
There is so much going on at work, at home, and in my personal life. It’s sometimes hard to even imagine how everything that needs to be done will be accomplished. God was reminding me that I don’t need to be the one to do it alone. He provides people to hold my arms up and help – I just have to be willing to accept the assistance.
God will provide someone to hold up your arms as well. I hope you will be like me and remember this the next time someone offers assistance. I wish I could share the mental picture I have of Liza at the top of that bubble jumping. I will also tell you she enjoyed it so much that she was the last one to come down when her time was up.
Liza will be a reminder to me that God provides strength when I need it, help when the task is hard, and complete joy when we allow others to come alongside us willingly. I think we all want to be able to help others. The question is, "Who are you allowing to help you?" With God there is joy and fulfillment in both areas. Who’s holding up your arms?
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Jill Johnson, a staff member at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother and Georgian. She is available to speak to your church's women's gatherings. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.
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