On Tuesday I wrote about the importance of not fixing things for other people (again, see why in, I’m Such A Mom), and not pressuring them into things. And, that’s true. We can’t make anyone do anything, and we can’t force anything down their throats. BUT, sometimes we need to confront people about things. Pointing something out to them, or talking to them about something once or twice, is completely different than fixing things, or pressuring them.
As Christians we’re called to look out for each other, and confront each other, and help each other out. The difference being when you try to control someone, or parent them. That’s not good. It may come from a good place, but it’s not a good thing. One of the side effects of pressuring people to do something (even if it may be good for them) is that they may get tired of you. They’ll get sick of you trying to tell them what to do, and it’ll usually keep them from wanting to do whatever it is you think would be good for them.
So, there are two perspectives. The first is from someone trying to help, and the second from the someone who may need help. We’ve touched on pretty much everything I can think of from the first perspective, and now it’s time to discuss the second one.
No one likes to be told what to do (for the most part). But, sometimes we need it. With my anxiety I’ve really struggled to go into social situations, so I talked to my mom and she’s agreed to make me do what’s scary. I need that push to be brave and do things so I remember that there’s nothing to be afraid of. Sometimes we need someone to come into our lives and give us that hard push.
There comes a time when we all need to put on our big girl panties and fight whatever’s bothering us. And we can’t do it alone.
I think I’m going to give all my blog posts relating to anxiety their own category. This being my current stage of life, I have a lot of thoughts on it, and I’m learning a lot about it every day. Check back next week for a post relating to when it’s time to stand up and fight (it’s a working title).