Graciously Accepting Help

Yesterday, I had some grocery shopping to do. I got to witness something almost more rare than a random act of kindness. I was able to witness somebody accept the help that was offered graciously and fervently. 

I went to Winco to get some groceries. The trip went fairly well. I got to the checkout line and there was two people ahead of me. There was a woman at the front that, bless her heart, was clutching a baby (4-6mo old) to her chest with one arm and was trying to single-handed bag her groceries. It's not like she had a few groceries. No, she easily had bought over $100 worth. If you're not familiar with Winco, it's a great grocery store that has (more) affordable prices. One of those reasons is because they don't bag your groceries. The cashier will ring up your groceries and send them down the belt and you bag them. If you have a large order, they can ring up the next order and they send that one down an adjacent belt. The idea is to stagger people. Back to my story, since this woman still had to pay and the person behind her had to be rung up, I had enough time to tell my kids to sit still while I went up to the woman holding the baby and asked her if could help her bag her groceries. To my amazement, she graciously accepted my help. We made a great team. I bagged her groceries and with her free hand, she grabbed the full bags and put them into her cart. I was able to get back to my cart and unload it up on the belt in the nick of time. 

Since the purpose of the blog is to acknowledge this woman's graciousness, I also want to look at why people don't accept help.

1) They refuse to acknowledge that there is a problem

For example-- The woman in my situation above could have thought that she didn't need help. She was getting the job done. It may have just taken her awhile. The problem was that eventually, customer's behind her would eventually probably have to stack behind her and also, she really probably needed to be able to meet her baby's needs in some way that was hindered at that moment by the groceries. 

2) Pride

Sometimes people are just too darn proud to accept help. Sometimes this is enduring, and sometimes this is just frustrating for all involved. 

3) They would just rather do it themselves

There can be a certain sense of satisfaction in doing something yourself.

4) The person doesn't care/like the person offering the help

One word: Relatives. Need I say more?

5) They're not ready to receive the help

Sometimes people need to just keep beating their heads until that brick wall until they are ready for the help. 

I would just like to encourage people to not only practice random acts of kindness but also to accept the help that people offer. You may just inspire somebody around you to accept the help that they themselves need.