What Can I Do To Help?

It's a common phrase for women to ask their friends, "what can I do to help?" The usual response to this inquiry is something along the lines of, "oh I'm doing alright, you don't need to help with anything," and then both parties go back to whatever they were doing in their day.  

But yesterday I asked for help from my lovely friend (who also happens to be my visiting teacher*). It had been a rough day for me and I didn't have all the motivation or energy to make dinner all by myself, and I knew that If I asked her to help me make dinner when she stopped by for a scheduled visit, she would be willing and we could talk and laugh and get dinner into the oven in half the time it would have taken me to do it alone. 

My happy face after a delicious dinner was made by the help of a friend. 

I had so much fun spending time in the kitchen with her, cutting eggplant and garlic, whisking eggs, and simmering a fresh pot of tomato sauce on the stove. We dredged the eggplant slices into the flour mixture, the eggs, and then Parmesan cheese and before I knew it, we had a gorgeous pot of eggplant Parmesan in the oven in less than an hour. 

Last month when she came, I asked if we could go on a walk because I needed sunshine. In January, she helped me cut out dozens of paper hearts so that I could heart attack another of my friend's door for her birthday the following morning. Helping another woman out does not always involve Clorox and rubber gloves, or something huge and time consuming. Usually all she needs, like in my case, is an hour of lighthearted conversation and an extra set of hands to complete a small, yet important task. 

Instead of being exhausted when I finished making dinner, I still had plenty of energy and was emotionally lifted by my friend's visit. That's what service is. It's a two-sided act that is most beneficial when both parties are willing to give and willing to receive (or ask). It's lifting another's spirits up and helping with whatever they need that day, however small or however large. 

*The Visiting Teaching program in my church is a system where each woman above the age of 18 is assigned to be a friend, a support, and a shoulder to lean on for a few other women in the congregation. We are counselled to get to know the women we are assigned to and keep communication lines open with whomever we visit, so that if sickness, sadness, or any kind of assistance is needed, both in happy times and in hard, we know who we can contact for immediate help. It is a way to meet and love women of various ages and life circumstances, thus enlarging our circle of friends and learning how to be empathetic to all women.