Learning to Receive

Recently, I was talking with a few friends, and our conversation unexpectedly turned to something we realized we weren't very good at:

Receiving.

It sounds simple enough, doesn't it?

Someone gives you a compliment. You say thank you.

Someone offers to help. You accept.

Someone gives you a gift. You smile and receive it.

But if we're being honest, how comfortable are we really with receiving?

How often, when someone compliments us, do we immediately explain it away?

“Oh, this old thing?”

“It was nothing.”

“I really didn't do that much.”

Or someone offers to help, and we quickly respond, “Oh no, I'm fine. I can do it myself.”

Why is that?

Why can we be so generous with our time, our energy, our love, and our attention—and yet feel a little uncomfortable when someone wants to give something to us or do something for us?

Perhaps somewhere along the way, many of us learned that our value comes from what we do for others.

We learned to be responsible. Dependable. Capable.

We learned to anticipate what everyone else needed before they even asked.

We became very good at giving.

But somewhere along the way, we may have forgotten how to receive.

And maybe receiving is not a sign of weakness, selfishness, or dependence.

Maybe receiving is its own form of strength.

Because receiving requires us to pause.

To soften.

To allow someone else to contribute.

To admit that we don't have to do everything ourselves.

And perhaps most importantly, receiving asks us to believe that we are worthy of what is being offered.

That can be much harder than it sounds.

I'm beginning to wonder if learning to receive might be one of the gifts of this season of life.

To receive the compliment without deflecting it.

To receive help without guilt.

To receive rest without having to earn it.

To receive joy without wondering when it will end.

To receive love without questioning whether we deserve it.

To receive the unexpected good things that life places in our path.

Which brings me back to something I've recently begun saying to myself each morning:

I wake with gratitude and expectancy.
I don't have to know what is ahead.
I am willing to receive it.

Maybe that's enough for today.

Not knowing.

Not controlling.

Not making it happen.

Just opening the door and saying,

“I am willing to receive what this day has to offer.”

“What would change in your life if, instead of asking ‘What can I do today?’ you occasionally asked, ‘What am I willing to receive?’”