on being vulnerable (part 2)...

I have a problem asking for things I need. I suppose it's because I value my independence. This has always been the case, but I've always been hesitant to admit that fact that I like being self-sufficient. I suppose it's because I've never been quite certain whether this is a strength or a weakness.

When it comes to being vulnerable with others, my independence has posed as a weakness, however. In relationships with others, in my relationship with God, I spend a great deal of energy proving that I have very few needs. A false sense of satisfaction comes from these moments where I attempt to deny my humanity. 

But I am human. I make mistakes and I know failure and I've been broken and I was not created to live life alone. In the Old Testament, God states that "it is not good for man to be alone." And the beauty of this statement is that--in this moment of creation--God is making a statement about His nature, not just a statement about humanity. In his triune nature, God models the perfection of community.

If I believe that I was created in the image of God, I must learn how to live in a community where I surrender my independence for honest relationships. The fear that keeps me from showing my need to others--that I am not God, and that God is not man--is an attempt to ask God to deny His nature.

To need is not a weakness. To need is to know the only thing that can give me strength.