The other night I exclaimed to my hard working husband, who recently started his own tree service, "I feel bad that you come home with all of these scratches and bruises!" His response: "Yeah but your heart gets hurt at work." Goodness me!
I truly care about my clients and sometimes my heart really does hurt for them. But, I get to watch them feel better- and I am changed in the process. Just like it's worth it for my partner to get smacked by the occasional branch to get be around the trees and wildlife that he knows and loves, it's worth it for me to accompany people in pain to get to nurture and be touched by the resilience of the human spirit.
We all become changed by the people and places in our lives. It's just a matter of how.
But, returning to occupational hazards of counseling, for a moment, I was not aware of the dangers of spraining my foot in counseling- but I managed to accomplish it! My foot fell completely asleep during session and was not there to support me when I stood up. Instead, I rather dramatically fell over in front of my client! Not part of the treatment plan.
In the days since, I have had to slow down. While studying for the national counseling exam, managing a growing caseload, and adjusting to newly married life back home, I had to slow down. This wasn't easy or what I wanted to do. But, the message that my body was communicating was not lost on me.
When it comes to our health and healing, there is no finish line. No magic moment when we can begin to start living- but this isn't a bad thing. We might as well settle in and enjoy the journey. Life is happening around us right now- whether we're sitting, laying, walking, or limping for it!
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