5 Ways To Lend a Helping Hand
There are always times and stages in life where you feel overwhelmed. You might be moving away for the first time, starting a new life journey, or struggling with a trial, but everybody needs helps sometimes.
This post is sponsored by State Farm, all opinions are my own.
We are currently in the life stage of “Holy moly we are overwhelmed”, and yes, that is the technical name for it. We are overwhelmed with goodness, overwhelmed with positive changes, and overwhelmed with emotion. I am currently 38 weeks pregnant with our 3rd baby, our first home is going up on the market this week, my husband graduates from dental school in May, and we are moving to Alaska in June. To say the next few months are going to be a whirlwind would be the understatement of the year!
These changes are good ones, but they bring some challenges with them as well. Having a newborn is always a beautiful, but sleepless and exhausting time. Moving is a ton of work, and moving almost 4,000 miles with 3 kids under 4 sounds daunting at best. We are so excited for this chapter in our lives to begin, but closing the door on this last chapter is going to be tough. We have fallen in love with Arizona and made some lifelong friends. But, in all of this commotion we have had help from loved ones that have made such a huge difference in my attitude and outlook on everything. Having people in your corner who support you and lift you is invaluable.
I began to think of all the times in my life that I have been helped or lifted by others and I was overwhelmed by the goodness that is in the world. These thoughts made me think of how I can help others in the same way, and hopefully make a difference in someone else’s life as well, after all we can all use a helping hand from time to time. Here are 5 ways to help a friend in need:
5 Ways to Help a Friend in Need
1. Make a Meal: Whether it be hot and fresh or one that can be thrown in the freezer, having food readily available is always a help.
2. Watch Their Kids or Pets: Plan a time to take someone’s kids for a minute. Whether they need to pack for a move or just be alone with their thoughts to work something out, it can always help.
3. Lend a Listening Ear: In many life situations, helping can be as simple as letting someone talk through what they are going through. They might have a problem to solve or emotions to cope with, but listening can be one of the best ways to offer your support.
4. Offer a Skill: Just this last week my dad made a trip down to see us to help us get our home ready to put on the market. He painted the garage, helped patch picture frame holes in the wall, and move a ton of stuff to a storage unit. It seems so simple but an extra set of hands can do so much.
5. Offer Your Expertise: Sometimes we just need someone who knows better than us to help us out. When I have a question about parenting, I call my mom. When I have a question about my car, I call my dad. When my tooth hurts, I call my dentist. If you have expertise that can be helpful, offer your help!
Helping people is important. That is why State Farm is such a cool company. Their whole goal is to help people. Whether you are buying your first car or first home, getting married or having kids, traveling or managing your income, they have someone there to offer their expertise and help you feel independent and confident in your choices. Their job is so much more than insurance coverage. Their job is to help you feel protected and prepared for whatever life is throwing your direction, and can’t we all use someone in our corner all the time? Go ahead, live confidently and spend your emotions where they matter most, because State Farm has your back!
Sometimes problems feel so big that it seems like a small gesture won’t have an impact but small gestures can have all the impact in the world.
The best help I ever received was when I was having a really rough time emotionally and needed a moment to breathe. My mom offered to take my 2 year old for the night. My sister-in-law kept my 4 & 6 year olds over night. And I just relaxed at home with the baby. It was so nice to recharge.
It is so easy to get overwhelmed with kids alone! But I find if someone will listen to me rant, then it makes me feel better!
These are all great way to lend a helping hand! Sometimes a little help goes a long way!
These are all great tips. LIfe can get soo overwhelming. Sometimes a helping hand can mean the world!
I love making meals for people. It makes me happy being able to give them something that makes they life easier and helps fill their bellies.
wow, Arizona to Alaska is quite the difference! I wish you all the best in your new endeavors!
Wow! I would be overwhelmed with just half of what you are looking at coming p. I know meals were so helpful when I had my babies
Those are some great tips! I think the best one though is listening – you know they need us to listen
Make meal is such a good one. I learned recently though how important it is to understand what the person likes, or all your hard work might just end up down the garbage disposal.
These are so important to remember but we forget to do them a lot. Most of the time, these acts of service are not that difficult for us to do.
I find that just listening to someone helps a lot when they need to vent. It’s nice to lend a helping hand when able.
These are all great ideas!!! It is amazing how you feel to after lending a hand to someone!
I try to be helpful whenever I can. I have a hard time asking for help though.
The best help we have ever had is when I was sick after having my daughter and our church community group all took turns helping us out with bringing over meals, helping me watch my daughter, and taking me to appointments. It was a lot of support and comfort from people we had only known a year, and very much appreciated as all our family members are living in OK and CA.
Meals are so important when you need a helping hand! When I had each of my kids we had meals delivered from family and friends, it was so nice to just pop it in the oven and be done!
This is so true. Making yourself available to watch your nieces and nephews helps a lot.
The best help I ever had was when my sister flew half way across the country to help me when I was having surgery. I really appreciated that!
When hubby had to retire due to work related injuries we lost over half our income. Thanks to his mom we were able to stay in our home. We came so close to losing our home it was scary!
The best help that I have ever received was when my neighbors made us dinner every night for a week after my son was born. They had a schedule and took turns bringing us dinner.
We make meals for people all the time to lend a hand. We do it when people move into the neighborhood and when others go into the hospital.
Watching someones else’s kids or pets is a biggie with me, since I have 3 kids and rarely get time to ourselves. So, friends and I take turns as babysitters are so expensive.
The best help I’ve ever received is jut being listened to. And by being listened to, I mean listening without trying to solve the problem.
Great ideas. Sometimes all you have to do is sit back and listen!