This has been an eventful season…again. I had my first class as an instructor at Concordia…YEAH! It was great. I get to teach group counseling to undergraduates in the upper grade level. Being an intern at Concordia has opened so many wonderful doors I cannot believe it. I also withdrew my application at 2 different jobs because I worked things out at FSB and will be counting hours towards licensure. After leaving a voicemail with one of the potential employers they actually called me back and shared how strong of a candidate I was and asked if they could hold my resume for future employment opportunities. It was unexpected and very flattering. Then I was asked to lead the training portion of the FSB staff meeting which was totally awesome. The only down side is I accidentally double booked Thursday and have to miss an elder meeting since I agreed to do the training for FSB. Then at about 5am this morning I realized I didn’t have 2 weeks to study for the NCE but had only 6 days…yikes! All the while my kids are in the midst of painting their rooms for the big separation…they all 3 share a room, that’s a story unto itself. I just keep telling myself take deep breaths and do one step at a time…then breathe deep again! Life is good and I am utterly grateful to be healthy, have an awesome family, have a great community and be gainfully employed. So as I hyperventilate this week I will remind myself that I am grateful and awed at the goodness of God for providing me with all that I need (ALWAYS) and more of what I want than I could have imagined.
Archive for January, 2009
Wounds
Stepping over Our Wounds
Sometimes we have to “step over” our anger, our jealousy, or our feelings of rejection and move on. The temptation is to get stuck in our negative emotions, poking around in them as if we belong there. Then we become the “offended one,” “the forgotten one,” or the “discarded one.” Yes, we can get attached to these negative identities and even take morbid pleasure in them. It might be good to have a look at these dark feelings and explore where they come from, but there comes a moment to step over them, leave them behind and travel on. Henri Nouwen “Bread for the Journey”
I am not an advocate of stuffing feelings however I think Nouwen speaks to core distinction that needs to be evaluated. And that is have our wounds become our identity and if that’s the case it’s not healthy. I am constantly advocating for being careful with labels we give or are given. There is a lot of value in saying I am person who struggles with anxiety versus I am an anxious person. The first one leaves room for change the other attaches it to identity.
