Seeking Help in the Midst of the Highs and the Lows

My toddler gives the biggest hugs I have ever received. He hugs with his whole body. “You melt mommy,” I tell him as he wraps his little arms around my shoulders. I can hardly contain my joy because there is something about those heart-to-heart hugs that makes me feel warm and whole inside. Like I was created for this very moment, and for moments like these.

It is often in those precious and fleeting moments that I feel glimpses of God’s love for me. His love is that good, after all. And, His love is that good, every time.

In addition to the hugs, my son can scream louder than any human I have ever met. It is the kind of shrill that sets my nervous system into a tailspin. Let’s agree that escorting a shrieking toddler out from a public place is not cute, and it does not feel like winning in the moment. 

Moments like these can leave me feeling exhausted and puzzled, tempted to cave to his demands or else scream “Stop it, just stop it already”—anything to get the noise to stop. Strong-arming a toddler out of a tantrum doesn’t work though. Patience and gentleness and persistent guidance, on the other hand, can help ease the storm.

I know this in theory, and yet, patience doesn’t always come easily—not with my son, my husband, or myself.

In the face of meltdowns, disappointments, and the like, it can be easy to go into control mode, trying to maintain the peace at all costs or to try and fix it and make it all better. 

The good news is that we do not have to navigate challenges or hardships alone. Resources, including one another, can help guide us through the highs and lows. As believers in Christ, we also have access to God’s word and power. We can go straight to the Lord and trust that He hears us.

Ask God for help.

Over and over again in the Psalms, David calls the Lord his helper. In faith, he seeks God’s help in navigating the stressors and uncertainties of life. As believers, we can do the same. 

If you’re like me, asking for help is easier said than done. After all, we live in a culture that values independence. If we put enough time, energy, and work into it, we can figure out almost anything on our own. Or so we think. As someone who was taught to be self-reliant at a young age, asking for help can be uncomfortable and even off-putting.

David, on the other hand, unashamedly asks for help:

Can we, too, be brave enough and bold enough to ask for God’s help?

• Help in holding our tongues when we want to defend our pride against our husbands.
• Help in removing ourselves when we need to calm down, regroup, and go at it again fresh with our kiddos.

It is a beautiful thing that when we call on God with open hearts and willing spirits, He takes the reigns, shepherding us from right where we are. 

Wait expectantly for His help.

As Christians, we can assume that God has a purpose for the challenges we are currently encountering. Though we can’t always see it, we can trust that He is somehow, in His own way and His own timing, working these things for our good. 

In waiting expectantly for God’s help, we can believe and claim the promise in Romans 8:28:

Instead of feeling discouraged when we don’t get an answer right away, or when something like temper tantrums persist way longer and louder than we hoped they would, we can trust that God is still at work, still on His throne. He hears us and cares for us personally. 

Even when His response feels like silence, we can choose to believe that He is working for our ultimate good and for His ultimate purpose. We may never get the results we desire or pray for. We can, however, trust and even expect that God is using the circumstances in our lives and in our kids’ lives for our good and for His glory.