Restore My Soul – Little Red Hen
Do you remember the story of the Little Red Hen? It was a story written to teach work ethic, self-reliance and that we reap what we sow. Several times throughout the story the little hen would say, “very well, I will do it my self,” and she did.
Many times I have felt the same way. Discouraged that others have not joined in and helped out followed by a healthy dose of self-reliance that kicked in and finished the job while creating an ever growing chasm in relationships.
God’s message to me: Fully rely on God
I was reading a booked called Gracelaced which talks about the different seasons in our life. The author described the seasons and wrote a small piece about what the Gospel is. One of the statements she made was, “The Gospel is the end of self-reliance – a beginning in forgiveness.”
I googled the question, “What is self-reliance?” and read that we grew up hearing, “The only person you can depend on is yourself. We were taught at a young age that it’s not a good thing to lean on others too much and that being independent is admirable.”
“The truth is that self-reliance is a double edge sword. While it has many virtues it can also rob us of true intimacy and the type of partnership we desire. Many people are self-reliant to a fault, putting far to much pressure on themselves.”
“They are fearful of depending on their partners for crucial support. This makes it hard to let your partner in and can deprive you of true love and intimacy.”
“You must learn to reign in your self-reliance, recognizing when it is preventing you from trusting your partner and to acknowledge when it denies your partner of everything you have to give.”
“Healthy partnerships bring out the best in people because when they feel safe and loved, they are free to grow and explore who they are as human beings.” (Huff Post Blog)
After thinking about this for awhile I understood why the two would go together; self-reliance and forgiveness. I try not to depend on others because I don’t want to be let down. Other times I have done things with the mindset that if something happened to Tracy I would need to be able to do things for myself.
This self-reliance is preventing me from trusting in God and experiencing all that He has for me. It is preventing me from seeing the many good things in relationships with my spouse, family, co-workers and friends that are blocked by unforgiveness from past disappointments.
I need to forgive people who have let me down in the past and I need to forgive myself. Focusing on the short coming of others and myself has lead to self-reliance and has distanced me from right relationships with God and others.
There have been many Little Red Hen moments this year with work and while I have thought “I’ll just do it myself.” The truth was that God was the one who really did it all. He brought me through it and gave me the strength and abilities when and where they were needed.
God showed me that I can always fully rely on Him. In relying on Him I will have all the help, guidance and strength I need for anything. Sometimes He will send others to help which is wonderful, but even if they don’t, I can forgive those who don’t want to help but only want to eat the bread.
God is the one asking, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” I want my response to be, “Here am I! Send me.” Because in the end what I really want to hear is, “Well done My good and faithful servant! Come and share in your master’s happiness.”
My Prayer
Father, please forgive my self-reliance and unforgiveness of others. Help me to freely forgive as I have been forgiven. Let my response be what I expect from others, “Here I am, send me,” and help me to have grace for others and not to place wrong expectation on them to meet my needs that only You can do. Thank you for the reminder that I can fully rely on You and I will never be disappointed. I Love You Lord! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Where does my help come from?
Isaiah 6:8
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Matthew 25:23
His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’