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It is hard to believe, but this is the last time I will write this column as president. It has been a busy year, but a good year as well. The committees have functioned very well. Everyone did the job they had agreed to do at the beginning of the year. Now we have to look forward to next year when Kersti Rock will be your new president. I hope everyone will be as helpful to her as you have been to me. Please, do sign up for the committees. All these jobs need to be done to have a viable church community, and it is enjoyable to work with others and make new friends in the bargain. Let us make next year as successful as this year has been. The installation service was lovely. The music was great. Mary Hrbek organized the reception/dinner and it was more than we could have wished for. The room was beautifully decorated with flower arrangements on every table, and the food was fantastic. Our out of town guests were most impressed with the quality of the experience. Thanks to everyone who helped make this event one of the high lights of the church year. “John, Help me. I can’t get this sock on. My underwear won’t go over my feet. I do not dare bend enough to do it myself!!” During my recovery from hip surgery, I realized that it is so frustrating to have to ask for help and be dependent on others for the smallest little thing. It undermines one’s self-confidence. You have doubts. Is someone coming to help? How long do I have to wait? What if I can never do this for myself again! The frustration of it all. I AM going to figure out how to do it somehow!! I have always been happy to help others. I would offer, or people would ask for help, but until you have been helpless yourself, it is hard to imagine what it is like to have to ask! You have no choice. My experience is that people do want to help if they are aware that help is needed. To be able to give help makes you feel good and happy. So there really is no stigma attached to asking for help when you need it. Just think of it as making someone else’s day. It is amazing what people will do for someone who truly needs help. That is why we have the caring committee. The members really enjoy caring for one another, and it is so much more pleasant to ask people you know than it is to depend on strangers. So, I would urge every member of this church who needs some temporary help during an emergency to ask the caring committee to take over. It is so wonderful to belong to a caring extended family. People ask me how I am doing. Well, the doctor is very happy about my progress. In August John and I hope to go to Colorado with our grandchildren and their parents for some nice mountain hikes, and I am going to be ready to do it. I may need a cane for rough terrain, but that is all right. The doctor says that I am doing great, and thank you for asking. And now, as a farewell, I want to thank all of the members and friends of this church for all the support you have given me during my tenure as your president. That made the experience a very happy one. I am most grateful to all of you. I am planning to try some other jobs next year and make some more friends. Love to all, |
Asking For Help
