Receiving Help Is Wisdom

Proverbs 10:17:

“He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, but he who refuses correction goes astray.”

Today’s Episode: Receiving Help Is Wisdom

Everybody wants to take the training wheels off. Get rid of the guardrails. Let me freestyle!

Sometimes that freedom ends with us sitting in a ditch.

On World Mental Health Day, here’s something I’m learning about receiving help in my chaplaincy practice.

And I mean practice. This isn’t a side gig or something I’m doing on my way to the thing. Spiritual care is work I’m giving myself to.

Part of our education involves what we call verbatims: written accounts of visits we’ve made, brought before our peers and educators for reflection.

We don’t always bring the shiniest apple. Sometimes we bring a visit where we made a mistake, hit a limitation, or simply didn’t know what to do.

Then the group picks it apart.

Whew.

There have been moments when I felt so vulnerable, I honestly wanted to cuss everybody out in the room.

That’s your chaplain talking. Pray for me.

But after I lick my wounds and stay in that circle, I begin to hear something my ego couldn’t hear at first.

I am loved. These people hold me in high regard. And they’re helping me see the standard of care we’ve all committed to.

I’m feeling the guardrails.

I can feel exposed in that circle and still be safe enough to grow.

Proverbs 10:17 says:

“He who keeps instruction…”

That’s the New King James Version. This proverb contrasts receiving instruction with refusing correction. It’s about how we walk through life, not a diagnosis of mental illness.

And correction deserves discernment. Humiliation isn’t holy just because somebody calls it accountability.

But when trustworthy people help me notice what I missed, can I stay present long enough to learn?

The people I care for deserve more than my good intentions. They deserve a chaplain who keeps learning.

Maybe the guardrail you’re fighting is helping you make the next turn.

Receiving help is wisdom. Even when your pride needs a minute.