Acting not asking

We've all been guilty of it. Using phrases such as-

"Do you need anything?"

"Well let me know if you need anything."

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

I've used those very phrases and I've been asked the same. 

How are you supposed to answer those types of questions anyways?  None of us want to admit that we need help...even when we desperately do. There's several variations of the answer, but they all typically sound something like this- "Oh, I'm okay. But thanks." 

Last night was a hard night for me. Morning sickness isn't just a morning thing for me. In fact, nights are usually the hardest for me. Last night was especially hard. I was awake from 1:30am - 5:30am. I hate vomitting, but last night I wanted nothing more than to just vomit. I was in so much pain! 

I hate asking for help, but I was seriously considering calling my mom. Would I have asked for help- probably not. I know she's got things of her own to take care of. 

Well this morning I got a txt from a friend, Rebecca  Duncan. She wanted to know if she could come pick up my boys. And then followed that up with a txt that said something along the lines of 'by the way, I'm already here.'

Rebecca had no idea that I hadn't slept last night. She didn't know that I wanted help, but probably wouldn't ask for it. Maybe she thought she was just taking her turn with my boys (we usually alternate weeks of watching each other's boys on Friday. My boys love it!) But there she was...not on a Friday, but on a day when I needed it! She was inspired. I believe she was led by the spirit. 

And this spurred my thoughts. I thought about the times when people had acted on my behalf and seemed to be inspired or led in their actions. None of these people asked what they could do. They just acted. They just did something. 

And this leads to my theory- we most often become instruments in the Lord's hands when we are more proactive & sincere and act, not just ask. When we are in motion The Lord sees that we are serious & sincere about being used. What are we telling The Lord when we just offer to help? 

"God does watch over us and does notice us, but it usually through someone else that he meets our needs." - Spencer W. Kimball

(And random, unrelated cellphone pics since I'm typing this post on my phone)

Health & Hormones

So I've been pretty sick for awhile...for various reasons.

#1- Sometime at the beginning of last year I began getting sick. I'll spare you the details, but multiple doctor visits and a colonoscopy later I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Ulcerative Colitis this past January. I've been put on a low residue diet- basically that means I can't eat much fiber at all. I'm so sick of white bread! haha But I hope to get this under control and go into remission. I don't see a GI doctor until June. We'll see what he has to say.

#2- We've had just about every known sickness pass through our household this past month. And I was the recipient of all of them! Fevers, chills, horrible cough (still not completely over it in fact), aches, sinus infection, ear infections, nausea, drowsiness. Not fun, especially when you can't call in sick as a mom. I didn't get all these symptoms all at once, but rather just when I seemed to be getting better, I'd catch another bug. I was sick with one symptom or other for about 3 weeks.

#3- I'm pregnant! Much more joyous. I've been anxious to experience morning sickness (how many times can you say that?!) as a kind of a sign that the baby is healthy (the time I miscarried I wasn't having morning sickness). I've wanted to make sure the constant nausea I was feeling wasn't a culprit of either the colitis or the different bugs I've experienced this past month. Well I'm finally not sick & the colitis isn't as bad (apparently you have flare ups with ulcerative colitis when you get sick...this I learned the past month). I'm about 7.5 weeks along and the due date is October 17.