As a feminist you would think I would be much more politically engaged. I have really tried this political season but I just can’t muster up the passion I think I should have. I even tried to engage some friends at our Evergreen campout in a conversation about politics and it was like all of my being was fighting my initiative. So I have been wondering why…and what I have come up with is I am so interpersonally wired that I can’t make a call about someone that I only see on TV. I wish there was a way to sit down for a cup of coffee with each candidate and look them straight in the eye. Not that it would be fool proof but it would give me a sense of who they are, how they impact me, what I FEEL when I am around them etc. Alas, that is not practical so I must do my best to make a decision based on what objective data I have, which doesn’t seem like much at this point. Come Novemeber I will vote, for who, I don’t know but I do know that my hope does not lay in the hands of my government…thank GOD!
Archive for September, 2008
2nd Annual Betrayal Redeemed
I have both the honor and sadness to be a part of this ministry/vocation. You see Betrayal Redeemed is for women who have an intimate partner that struggles with sexual addiction. These women belong to a club that no one wants to be in however many do. I have the privilege of coming alongside these women and families to help nurture/counsel them back to wholeness and healing…the double bonus is when a marriage is restored. They are courageous women who are ready to face their life head on with much fear and risk but knowing there is little else left other than curling up in a corner and disappearing. Betrayal Redeemed was birthed out of the journey of Dr. Sandy Wilson of Tuff Stuff Ministries, my friend and mentor. She has spent the bulk of her professional career helping couples and women reclaim their life. This conference can be the beginning or the augmentation of a journey towards healing and hope. If you or someone you know would benefit from the counsel/encouragement of a fabulous team of professional counselors, lay counselors, and fellow travelers this is one not to miss. Spread the word in your community.
Feeling Needy…hard to admit
What I am really noticing that I need is someone who has weathered raising teenagers. Don’t get me wrong I love my teenager…she really is one of my favorite people. But she still is a teenager with all the roller coaster feelings that entails. I remember thinking when she was a wee one that “I would be a different parent…I wouldn’t be one of those parents with crazy teenagers.” HA! I like to think I am a fairly emotionally intelligent and capable parent but I still have a teenager with a strong will and a developing brain. I know of those kids that are compliant and easy going, I also know they come with their own set of challenges and hurdles. I really do love the fact that my kids are strong willed and assertive even when it bumps right into my head and heart. I am learning daily how to engage from a rational and level headed yet compassionate space but at the end of the rough days I feel like rolling up in a ball and crying my eyes out because of exhaustion and a good handful of fear.
At the last parenting group that I actually got to be a part of the timing could not have been better. The topic was agenda, parental agenda, and how important it is to lay it aside our agenda as a parent in order to attend to the needs of the child before us. To help them recognize their feelings and express them. I can do this, as a counselor, but when it is my kid, my heart, my family in the hot seat there is so much baggage, good baggage but baggage none the less wrapped up in all the feelings.
We went camping recently with some old friends. A couple of them have “launched” children into adulthood, children that we once were youth pastors to. And it was amazing how some of the words of comfort we gave them have come back to be visited at our door now. The one that hit home was; there are seasons in the teen years when your kids are on “the darkside of the moon” and you simply have to trust the work you did in the early years, many prayers, and faith that God is present to them and that they will come through to the other side and do the work they need to do.” I know we are not inactive here but our action begins to shift to focus on their agenda for themselves, their hopes and dreams, their passions and to encourage them with gradually widening boundaries.
If there is one area of my life that I really need a huge shot of faith and encouragement this is it! I counsel couples, I coach parents, I am passionate about healthy relationships and I still am human and need all those things for myself. It is a good place to be, to realize I can give what I have to give but I still need to be growing and being filled up by others.
