The difficulty of giving up self-reliance

Igrew up in a time when “doing it yourself” was a great virtue. As a boy, I learned to fix my own bike and patch my tubes in the tires. I fixed my first radio in junior high school when my dad let me have a discarded vacuum tube radio to repair. I took all the tubes to get tested and rewired the plug at the end of the electrical wire. I learned skills in wood, metal and mechanical shop in high school. I put those to good use, working in a cabinet shop, working on my car in the Army at a self-help garage on base, and minor work on engines.

In fact, early in our marriage, we could not afford expensive repair bills, so I learned to work on our appliances while working at Sears in the maintenance department. My wife had helped her dad do basic repairs on vehicles, so together, we replaced a water pump, replaced plugs and wires, did our own oil changes and other routine replacements on the car. We were young do it yourselfers.

I replaced worn out washers and seals in faucets, hot water elements and handled most all our electrical needs, as I also worked in the maintenance shop while in seminary doing all the lights on campus, as well as installing ceiling fans and so forth. If I didn’t know how to do something, I watched as someone else did it. Most all the tools I own are from do-it-yourself projects where I needed them to do the job.

I could even upgrade my own computers, putting in extra memory cards, upgrading to faster modems and installing my own programs. However, over time, this became more difficult to do. As cars became more computerized, I quit working on them. I still work on minor plumbing issues, or other simple matters, but as I’ve gotten older, I have become less self-reliant and more dependent on professionals to do the tasks needed. Giving up doing for myself in many areas is more difficult than I anticipated. I often see the frustrations of older adults as they become less independent and more dependent on family and friends to help them.

Yet, spiritually speaking, we are all helpless and unable to fix and save ourselves. Jesus said, “Apart from Me, you can do nothing.” As difficult as it is for some of us, and because we need to, let us let go and let God. I’m keeping my tools though.