Needing Help.

Here’s what I hate: needing help.

Last Monday, I got horribly stuck.

I was getting dressed to go to a brunch at my neighbor’s house. I had already wasted way too much time standing in my closet trying to decide what to wear. I now had exactly 3 minutes to change clothes, freshen my hair and make-up and walk over to my friend’s house. I decided on a cute short-sleeved black shirt that has a built-in tank top—a tank top with spaghetti straps. Because the top was black, I had to be extremely careful when putting it on lest I get horrible white deodorant marks all over it. Putting on a black top without smudging it with deodorant is tricky on it’s own. But add in these crazy spaghetti straps, which I had to somehow put my arms through before putting it into the sleeves of the shirt, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Somehow, my right arm got twisted up inside the stringy spaghetti strap and could not make it through to the sleeve of the shirt. My left arm was through, but my right was horribly tangled within my shirt. To make matters worse,

I

Could

Not

Get

It

Out.

I was prisoner in my own shirt.

At this point, I was late for the brunch.

I contemplated going with my right arm stuck inside my shirt and pretending I had been attacked by a shark or something, a la Bethany Hamilton. But, decided that lie might be a little disrespectful of her AND slightly unbelievable since Nashville does not have an ocean.

I tried again to pull my arm out, I pushed and stretched and clenched my teeth and held my breath and stomped my foot and blew air out in exasperation. I nearly cussed and then decided to take a break. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

I was going to have to walk up the street with my arm tangled in my shirt and ask the girls at the brunch to help me! This is ridiculous!

Fortunately, after I calmed down, I was able to somehow get my arm out of the twisted strap, back through the strap in the correct way and then through the sleeve properly. AND, no deodorant marks!

It was a miracle.

I was thankful to get out of my predicament without having to face the embarrassment of asking for help. But, sometimes, we face problems that are even bigger than a cute top—turned straight jacket—and even more vicious than a sneaky spaghetti strap. Sometimes we are tangled up in things that we can’t get ourselves out of.

I’m talking about problems we’ve gotten ourselves into—problems that are somewhat embarrassing to admit.

I’m talking about sin.

Sins come in all shapes and sizes. Coveting, gossip, selfishness, worry, lust, pride, jealousy—these are all things with which we struggle. But, whether big or small, they all entangle us in a trap--a trap that keeps us from open communion with our Heavenly Father.

I think the stickiest sins are sneaky sins. They come disguised as something small and manageable. We don’t think it’s a problem. We know we probably shouldn’t stand so close to the thing that calls to our heart, but we tiptoe a little closer, and a little closer, and a little closer. We feel we are in complete control. Until…Snap! A tiny tentacle suddenly wraps around our ankle. It’s not pulling us down. It looks weak and insignificant. Even though it startled us, we still think we can reach down and unwrap it fairly easily.

The problem is that as soon as your hands reach down, two more tiny threads wrap around your wrists. This is when you should cry for help. This is when you need someone else to come beside you, to help untangle you and walk you back over to the path.

But, we are embarrassed. We are ashamed. We know we shouldn’t have been standing that close. So, we stay quiet in our trap. We struggle silently. And because the tentacles aren’t as big as the horrible sins of other’s, we think we are okay.

This happened to me.

Several years ago, I walked too close to something I thought was no big deal. I got caught in a snare and temporarily lost my mind. Fortunately, while I still had my wits about me, I had called out for help. I had asked two of my friends to pray for me. I confessed to them what I had done. I showed them the tentacle wrapped tightly around my ankle. They went to work to get it off of me by praying for me, sharing verses with me, and showing me both compassion and truth.

But, I continued to do the unthinkable. With them working diligently on the tentacle around my ankle, I stupidly opened the door to several more traps which quickly engulfed my mind. I no longer knew which way was up. No, I take that back, I KNEW the right direction, I knew what I should be doing, but I could not get out.

Finally, one night, I cried out for discipline from my Father. I realized that I had lost all self-control and I needed His help.

For one moment on that terrible night, He opened my eyes and showed me where the tiny tentacles were pulling me. He showed me the gaping darkness of death and destruction at the end of the path I was choosing. In His mercy, He allowed me to see the end result of what I thought that I could handle on my own.

It terrified me.

But, it restored my sanity.

With the morning light, came the sure sound of the tentacles being snipped away by the only One who has conquered death.

Once freed, I hurried back to where I knew I should be. I praise God for rescuing me and completely restoring me. And I am deeply grateful to the friends who fervently and consistently prayed for me during this horrible time. I am thankful that they treated me with grace, but that they also kept me accountable and reminded me of God’s promises and truth. Without their prayers I would have remained weak, confused, and defeated. Even though I was ashamed of what I was doing, the moment I confessed it to them, the bonds of sin were weakened. The prayers and encouraging words of my friends were the light in the darkness I needed.

I’d like to say that I’ll never stray again. Ha! Wouldn’t we all like to say that?

But, there are too many silly, innocent-seeming options calling for our attention and affections. That’s why it’s so important to fix our eyes on Jesus and run towards Him and Him alone. And when something distracts you, ask your friends to help you.

So, don’t stay stuck in your shirt, too embarrassed to ask for help.

Is there a tiny titanium tentacle around your ankle? Do not attempt to handle it yourself. Show your friends. Ask for their prayers. And ask for the Lord’s loving discipline. It might be scary and it might take time, but it’s the only sure way to escape that sin which so easily entangles.

I know it’s embarrassing, but ask for help.