Pride

I am a very stubborn person. I hate to ask for help. I guess this is my pride. Two days ago, it started getting cold, I turned on my furnace and realized it was blowing cold air. Oh well i thought I could lite a pilot, no biggy. So I ignored it until last night when it started to get cold. Colten, Coby, and I went downstairs and tried to light the stupid thing. It wouldn't light. We spent an hour before i got mad and gave up. I knew what I was doing was correct but I couldn't figure out why it wasn't lighting. Last night, I ended up with four kids in my bed because it was so cold. All day today I tried and tried to light it with no luck. The kids came home complaining the house was cold (it was only 55 degrees in here I don't know why they were complaining, lol). They kept saying I needed to call someone. I kept saying I will figure it out (see that stubborn thing coming out). Finally, my coby picked up the phone and called my old home teacher and he and his wife came right over. He lit it two seconds flat. I asked him how he did it and he showed me, I was lighting it in the wrong spot. I was lighting it above the pilot. As he was leaving he turned and said is your swamp cooler drained? I probably looked shocked and said, what? I was suppose to drain it. He gave me the look and got everything taken care of for me. I asked him what would of happened if it didnt get taken care of and he explained that if it would of froze my pipe would of burst etc. While he was on top of my roof covering and taking care of my cooler, his wife had a talk with me. This may be one of the most important things anyone has said to me. She said, she was like me while her husband was away ( he wasn't in the military but worked as a civilian contractor overseas). She would try and try to do everything by herself and it would wear her out. She also said that asking for help doesn't make you weak. I realized she hit the nail on the head. I don't want people to see me as weak but not asking for help has become my weakness. Tonight, i learned it was okay to ask for help. It will be hard not to let my stubbornness take over but I can slowly learn that pride is my downfall and I need to let others help because that is their way of getting blessings that otherwise they wouldn't get. This family is my lifesaver in more ways than I can express. I hope every army spouse out there learns from my experience. Don't hesitate to ask for help when you truly need it because you are not only blessing your life but the lives of others.