Confession

I have a problem. I am a fixer. It has less to do with a desire to help and more to do with a misguided sense of responsibility. There is no real sense of proportion that comes with this condition, just an unrealistic idea that it is my responsibility to fix it, whatever it may be. I seldom ask for help, usually because I feel that I am a bother to others, and sometimes for fear that I will only be disappointed.

The real trouble comes when I finally discover that I can't fix it; then I shut down. I begin to ignore the warning signs that I am doing more harm than good to those around me. Instead of simply asking what others need of me, I assume that my inability to fix everything is a failure, and I allow the weight of that failure to eclipse my perception of others and the situation. It is a sickness really. A lie that my mind has somehow learned to believe.

I do believe that I have, to some degree, known this about myself for quite some time, but the reaction of any fixer to any problem is to try and fix it yourself. That, obviously is not only incredibly frustrating, but entirely impossible. The whole reason that this world needed a savior is because God knew that we are all ill-equip to save ourselves, or each other for that matter. No matter how much spiritual iron I pump my muscles could never reach that capacity. So, I am enlisting the help of saints like you, to help me entreat the most powerful source I know. Not only for myself, but for anyone who reads this list of symptoms and sees their own condition being revealed, let us pray together for the yoke to be broken.

Gracious Heavenly Father, we come before you humbly today, acknowledging that we need to be healed of the condition called fixer,and let it be replaced with the position You gave us as helpers. Lord Jesus, we know that we are hurting the very people you have called us to help by trying to take Your place as savior. Please help us to learn that helping is different than taking on a whole problem by ourselves, please teach us the difference, and show us how and who to ask for help. Deliver us from this false sense of responsibility. Teach us wisdom and balance. In Your son's precious name, Jesus, we pray,
Amen