Posted January 1, 2026 by Christina Chase1 Comment in the world

New Year, New Me

“God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me.”

For some reason I feel awkward praying this prayer from Psalm 69. The lines begin nearly every morning “hour” prayer in The Liturgy of the Hours, which I’ve been listening to in song off and on for a while. (Only Lauds, rarely Vespers.) But I don’t want to begin my day with those words, asking God to make haste to help me. It feels awkward and wrong somehow, because I’m not in such great need.

Am I?

Knowing that I have a progressive neuromuscular disease that has rendered me a quadriplegic, you may be thinking, “Duh, of course you are in great need of God’s assistance, Christina!”

But my life is actually pretty good — I’m safe, warm, well fed, well cared for, and have always known that I am loved. That’s more than too many people in this world can say. Too many people in this world are lonely, abused, neglected, malnourished, homeless, etc. I tend to pray for others. Yes, I pray for those in greatest need throughout the world, but I also and most usually pray for people that I personally know who need specific things. I pray for the healing of my parents and other specific people with ailments. I pray for the safe travels of my loved ones, for their good decisions each day, and for any spiritual or emotional healing they may need. I don’t ask for myself, just others.

Before you go canonizing me, this is NOT a humble thing to do. This is not a sign of humility at all, but rather of pride. What am I telling God? That I don’t need anything from Him? “I can manage all on my own, Lord, but these other people — they need your divine aid. Not me.”

Oh, the hubris. (That’s just a fancy way of saying that I’m full of myself.)

Knowing Who I Am

Every good thing in my life comes to me from God. Yet even when He is pouring out the blessings, I fail to scoop them up, to hold them preciously, to share them as I ought, or to notice them at all. I can’t even do the very act of praying all by myself — that’s the first thing each morning that I need God’s direct assistance in order to do. But I don’t want to ask God for anything?

Why? What’s wrong with asking for help? I remind my aging parents fairly often that it’s important to ask for help. I’m so used to asking others to help me that it’s my very way of life, how I survive every day. When we age and grow too weak to button a shirt collar or make a bed, it is right and good to ask another human being for assistance. This is love. This is the bond of charity — our willingness to help each other, which depends on being willing to ask for and receive help.

I’m very good at asking my fellow human beings for help. But asking God for help? Well…

With what do I need God’s assistance? Everything! But that’s too broad to be helpful here. I need God to help me to pray as I ought. I need God to help me to pray for my fellow human beings. I need God to help me to know what my fellow human beings want and need. I need God to help me to help them in the flesh whenever I can. I need God to show me those times when I can help. I need God to open my mind and my heart to the workings of the Spirit, to show me the right decisions to make every moment of every day. I need God to work on my heart and my will to help me to make those right decisions every moment of every day. I need God to help me to be a good writer, inspiring me, encouraging me, and leading me to fulfill my vocation. I need God to help me to be patient with the people in my life, forgiving, forbearing, gentle, and loving. I need God to…

Fill in the blank with anything.

Learning to Ask God

My mother and I used pray this prayer that we gathered from somewhere:

“Lord Jesus, I can’t live the Christian life by myself. When I try to do that, my struggles end in failures and defeat. I need You to take over my life and live Your life through me.”

This is something that I need to pray again. The only way to live the Christian life is to call upon Christ, to ask for God’s assistance.

When I’m afraid, I need God to help me to trust Him, to be strong and of good courage. When I’m sorrowing, I need God’s consolation, I need Him to come to me and comfort me. When I’m joyful, I need God’s assistance to be truly thankful and free in my joy. When I breathe, I need the very air that God created, the very lungs that God made in me. Waking is with God’s assistance, living and loving is always with God’s assistance. But do I reach out for Him? Do I allow God to help me? Instead, I seem to turn to myself and the world, telling God, “I got this.”

Many of us make New Year’s resolutions that have to do with “self-care.” I’ve certainly done that. Having a selfish tendency, however, I’ve become wary of anything that seems self-centered. But seeking God’s care for me is never self-centered. It’s quite the opposite. Whenever I reach out for God’s help, I recognize and realize that God is God and I am not, that God is in control, that I am nothing without divine assistance and depend totally on Him. That’s the best way to start the day.

And so, I begin this new year with Psalm 69:

“God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me.”

Blessed New Year, everyone!

Feature Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash

Christina Chase View All

Although crippled by disease, I'm fully alive in love. I write about the terrible beauty and sacred wonder of life, while living with physical disability and severe dependency. A revert to the Catholic faith through atheism, I'm not afraid to ask life's big questions. I explore what it means to be fully human through my weekly blog and have written a book: It's Good to Be Here, published by Sophia Institute Press.