Praying for help is not so much an exercise in going deeper into something, Anne Lamott suggests, but giving it over. "Praying 'help' means that we ask that Something give us the courage to stop in our tracks, right where we are, and turn our fixation away from the Gordian knot of our problems. We stop the toxic peering and instead turn our eyes to something else: to our feet on the sidewalk, to the middle distance, to the hills, whence our help comes – someplace else, anything else. Maybe this is a shift of only eight degrees, but it can be a miracle." (Page 40, Help Thanks Wow.)
I have found that the shift of eight degrees can make an enormous difference. It often happens when I invite God in to help me deal with a relationship that is stuck – or sticky. When I pray for God's help, I am turning over at least eight degrees of the relationship to God, which frees me from the fool's errand of trying to fix it myself.
I'd like to hear – what are your experiences with turning difficult situations over to God?
Join me in reading and discussing Anne Lamott's new book, Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers, during the season of Epiphany & Gratitude (January 6 - February 12, 2013). Find out more.
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