HELP! PLEASE

HELP! PLEASE

Humans may be the only animal when trapped or hurt will choose to remain in the situation without crying out for help or struggling against the trap until finally escaping or death. In other words, homo sapiens are the only animals that take pride and find comfort in suffering silently. My disclaimer, “this is not true of everyone, but it happens enough.” When trapped or hurt what do you do?

A small brown bird built a nest in a large white flowerpot just outside the garage door. She was already skittish because I had upset the nest a few times. As I stood talking to a friend in the driveway not far from the flowerpot, the birdie flew into the garage or so I thought. My husband later discovered her upstairs. He quickly closed the doors and forced her into one bedroom and opened the window and blinds. She immediately flew to the light and left the premises. She was not going to stay trapped when an escape route had been provided.

Babies don’t suffer silently – wet, sick, hungry - they let it be known with a cry. Children will tell you when their stomach hurts or act out when something is wrong or cry out in pain. Somewhere along the way, this response to pain or being trapped becomes the exception rather than the rule. Most if not all of us have developed a habit of masking with the façade that everything is fine when in fact, inward erosion is occurring on a massive scale. I have often wondered what happened to humans to cause us to stuff feelings and deny hurt.

Perhaps it began when little boys and girls were told, “Big girls/boys don’t cry.”  Or could it have come from crying out, asking for help repeatedly and in the absence of receiving help we stopped asking and started masking. I don’t have an answer.

Masking our feelings and being trapped by and with them, comes at an exorbitant price. Tension headaches, skin rashes, irritable bowels, TMJ are just a few of the health maladies that have been linked to staying trapped. I speak from experience. I wear a mouth guard most nights. A few years ago, I woke up with several little pus-filled bumps on my upper back thigh. Instinctively I knew something was not right and called my PCP. The nurse obviously knew something wasn’t right as well. Before the day’s end, I was in his office. The doctor took one look and said, “what are you worried about?” My masked hopped out of the pocket of denial and I said, “nothing.” He asked again and added, “you have a mild case of shingles.” I was forced to face the reality that everything was not all right. My body had cried out to be released even when I was too proud to do so verbally.

A mild case of shingles was a major teacher. The thought of a major case makes me shutter even now. I don’t mind crying out and asking for help.

James 5:14-15

PONDER THIS THOUGHT---Those who seek to be whole know how to say, “Help.”