I Think I'm Falling...

It's 5:00 AM on Thursday. I wake up feeling really warm and dizzy. A few minutes later, I find myself collapsed on my bathroom floor. Somehow, I work up strength to crawl to my sink, grab a cold washcloth and crawl back to bed.



Later that morning, I wake up with vague memories of my fall, a twisted ankle, bruised elbow (did I land on it? hit it on the bathtub?) and achy muscles. I'm sick. And when I get sick, I typically get knocked out (literally in this case).



I know--it sounds very Scarlett O'Hara, damsel-in-distress, right? But I think fainting may be God's way of telling me, "You have to sit still...sometimes."



When I talked with my Mom later in the day Thursday, she went into her protective mode, "Did you call for help?" No ... that would have been logical of course, but when it's 5:00 AM and I'm sick (and definitely without Starbucks), logic isn't my brain's first response.



My mind instead goes back to its natural instinct--and the "By myself!" mantra I probably had during my Terrible Twos.



I think "By myself!" syndrome is something that a lot of people have--and it's interesting because sometimes it can be good, and other times, it's definitely not. People who live with the "By myself!" instinct tend to be responsible, take ownership, and work well independently. But we can also endanger ourselves by taking on too much and not saying "no" when we should.


I have to remind myself that saving the world is God's job--not mine. And that it's okay...even necessary...to ask for help sometimes--whether I'm semiconscious on my bathroom floor or overloaded with too much stress, work or other stuff that can take over my life.


It's a lesson I need to learn now before Mom buys me one of those oh-so-attractive "Life Alert" buttons (which she jokingly suggested). I refuse to accessorize like Flava Flave...but some diamond grills could be cool (okay, maybe not). :)