It's not shameful to struggle.

It’s not shameful to be struggling as society would have you believe. Throughout the lockdowns in the UK, many of us would like to believe that everyone has been getting on with it as best as they can and have not had to struggle. But to believe this, you would have been living outside of reality. The truth is, in this pandemic and pre covid we have all struggled. Whether it was in our finances, family life, mental health or though sudden loss, unemployment, work or academics. Too often we struggle quietly and eventually end up suffering in silence.

The bravest option for anyone struggling is to acknowledge that they are struggling and ask for help. However, we are led to believe that this is shameful. I would like to submit this truth to all reading this blog post. Struggling is not shameful and asking for help is the bravest thing you can do. The student struggling at school and asking for help is not shameful. The family going to collect an emergency food parcel is not shameful, the individual seeking therapy to deal with past trauma is not shameful. You are living, you are fighting and wanting to thrive and for that Necessities UK honours you. Honour is a key value of ours. We like to honour people by seeing them through the eyes of God, with love, compassion and without discrimination. We are working to extinguish the false stigma of shame attached to food banks through education and breaking down intrusive requirements systems. We model our help request system after our godly relationship.

God knows every thought that goes through our minds, good, bad and weird. He knows exactly what you need before you open your mouth in prayer and yet he waits patiently for you to ask. Why? God is a loving father who will never forcibly burst into your life without you making the choice to have Him in it. The greatest power God gave humans was choice because its not love if you have no choice in it. And God always wants us to be able to voice our struggles to Him and give Him permission to do what only He can do and that is to help you by bringing you peace in times of struggle, loss or grief. Or give you knowledge when you lack understanding o guide you in times of confusion. By modelling this relationship, all who come to Necessities UK are able to clearly communicate their needs and ask for what they need without shame attached.