Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”…
Exodus 4:1-2
Over the years I have been reminded often of a truth- that others see things in us that we do not see in ourselves. So often I get the joy of pointing out certain strengths or traits in others that they do not see in themselves. Sometimes people have gotten an image of themselves that is not completely accurate. They may have been under the deeply held impression that they are not capable, not worthy, not intelligent, not good enough- you name it.
One of the values of therapy is that people can become ready to receive a healing truth at a “right time” in their life, and the counselor gets the fortunate job of bringing that to light. As the old saying goes, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears”. This means of course that the student (client), already has what they need (skills, abilities, insights, etc.), but cannot hear it until they are ready. Once the opportunity comes, the healing can happen quickly.
I recently had that happen with a client who shared with me in just the second session with her, that “everything clicked” and her anxiety over a specific life event, had melted away after using some tools in an “anxiety tool kit” we use. Truthfully, she really had some of those tools intuitively, but hearing me go over them with her gave her the confidence to use them.
Just as God essentially said to Moses at the “burning bush” – you have all that you need in your hand…
Prayer: Thank you Lord for the gifts you give us, even when we do not see them, Amen
Reflections of a Counselor 