By: Tayler Burcham
I recently had a hip surgery to repair a torn labrum muscle. I definitely did not know such a tiny muscle could affect the entirety of how my body functioned and moved together! Over the past year, it became clear that something needed to be done. The hardest part of committing to the procedure was having to commit to the time it will take to heal.
As a mom of six, I have often begged for such downtime; but I quickly learned how hard it is to truly sit in that downtime. I thought I should share a few muscles I don’t like to exercise.
- Asking for help.
As a mom, wife, and even as a military spouse, I think we learn quickly how to suck it up and do All The Things without asking for help. We are often away from our support systems, and asking for help can truly be vulnerable.The worst is that I think we believe we are a burden if we ask for help. YOU ARE NOT A BURDEN! I want to be clear about that. We are all in this together. One body of Christ.
- Reliance on others.
Post-surgery, I was relying on someone to just go to the bathroom. Humbling! My husband asked me if I always go to the bathroom this much. I am pretty sure it was a normal number of bathroom trips for a day, but it was obviously double the amount for my husband. I have to rely on people helping get through a door I can’t open. I can’t cook, so I’m at the mercy of what I’m fed. I dropped the soap when showering and had to ask if someone could grab it for me. LIFE CHANGED! I was not prepared for how much it was going to shift during this process.
I’m going to venture to say that exercising these muscles, for others, might come more naturally than the other way around. I would not bat an eye at a friend who needed help, so then why am I considering myself a burden when my friend isn’t a burden for me? Through this process, I know God has blessed me with providing family, friends and even strangers to come to my aid as I have been healing. From the simple blessings of someone opening the door to me because that is an extremely difficult task at the moment, to friends taking my kids to swim, and family helping watch them. It’s been quite the community event. BUT isn’t this what God says we are? We are a family, a community, to serve one another, to show love and care and have compassion for one another.
How are we living this out in our lives? Do we see the people around us that we can help in such an easy task, like opening a door? Do we see our friends who are overwhelmed and just offer to take their kids out? Or do we need to be the ones being vulnerable and ask for that help? Which muscle do you need to exercise? I’m all of the above, and I’m in a position where I truly need to exercise these muscles. And maybe–just maybe–they’ll still be strong the next time I need to use them.
