About a year ago, i was hanging out with a friend of mine. We'll call him Jack. Jack, having been raised well, always opened doors for me. And while i appreciated this, i would sometimes try to open doors for him. But Jack wouldn't let me. We'd literally be standing outside of an open door for five minutes; i'd be holding it, saying, "Just go!" and he'd be reaching for it saying, "No! Let me get that for you." Finally, i asked him why he always insisted on behaving like a gentleman.

"Because it's a nice thing to do. I like doing nice things for people."
"Would you say it's a blessing to be able to do nice things for people?"
"Yeah, absolutely."
"That's exactly my point. By doing nice things for me, you are not allowing me to do nice things for you, and are therefore denying me a blessing."

Fast forward to about a week ago.

Anyone who knows me at all probably knows that i am stubborn and independent to a fault. Whether a big thing, like trying to get a loan for college, or a small thing, like walking to CVS after dark, i don't ask anyone to help me. I insist on stumbling along alone. And while i'm sure that, on some level, my loved ones are glad that i am not a burden on them, they also insist that they'd like to do nice things for me. But i didn't get it, until one day i was walking back from work with God. He kept telling me that i have to let people do things for me, and i kept brushing Him off, until He grabbed me by the shoulders, looked me in the eyes, and said, "When you insist on doing everything for yourself, you are denying others the blessing of helping you."

Damn.

So i'm working on that. I'm reaching out, even if only a few inches. I'm asking for help, even if only in small things. And i'm trying to bless you, even if only a little bit.