Don’t Be Afraid

I was listening to a motivational clip earlier this month and the speaker mentioned that if we knew everything in our future we might not move forward. He went on to say that if a decade ago we saw the blueprint of the coming decade, everything good, bad, and ugly, we might be paralyzed to keep pushing forward. I thought about this for a good bit. I think if I saw a blueprint 16 years ago of what One80 Counseling would look like 16 years from then- I’d be struck with fear AND awe. We’ve navigated some really, really, difficult challenges in 16 years. We’ve also met some great people along the way, achieved some cool accomplishments and most of all helped tens of thousands of individuals and families turn their life around.

Therapists know that we can hold two things at the same time. We know that joy and sorrow can coincide, struggle and victory, achievement, and failure, wins and losses, they ALL can coexist simultaneously. So, if I were to time travel to 2007 and say to myself, “Self, I know you thought you were going to be a part-time therapist and a stay-at-home mom to two beautiful girls….but God has something so much bigger for the community where you live and work. The community needs you to spearhead this mission: to be a place where ANY ONE of any walks of life can find a therapist that suits them and can help them. Self, you’re going to create a place of Hope and Comfort for the hurting and the struggling. And Self, there are going to be dozens upon dozens of great humans that are therapists and administrators, who will come alongside you in this mission. They care about the community where THEY live and work, and THEY will want to turn lives around too. Self, you can’t do this on your own and so you will have many helpers. Don’t be afraid. Don’t get stuck. The next 16 years look heavy and hard AND glorious and successful. Push forward”.

I think that, unlike the motivational speaker who said people would get paralyzed if they knew the future… I’d push forward and do what I and we are all called to do at this point in history. Love People. Help the struggling. And really make a difference in others’ lives – by helping them turn it around.