Dear Hyde Park Family,
I love sessions with my therapist. They have been an important key to maintaining emotional wellness during this long, difficult season of life and ministry. Those of you with such a relationship with a therapist know these benefits; I’m grateful for mine.
At our first session years ago, she concluded by inviting me to answer two questions, which have marked the ending of each session ever since:
- What is one thing you are proud of since the last time we met?
- What is one thing you are looking forward to?
At first, those questions were hard to answer, especially during sessions when I felt so burdened by the present. I’ve since learned that this is precisely the point. The first question recalls and redeems the past; the second question anticipates and draws strength from the future. Both questions, together, have helped me get unstuck from the present.
It is now my favorite part of our sessions, and I ponder the answers before I arrive. More importantly, I have learned to ask these two questions of myself even between sessions, finding encouragement in the process.
I hope you have a person in your life with whom you can share answers to these questions., may it be a family member, friend, trusted colleague, or perhaps a professional therapist. You will discover that relationships like these, in which you can celebrate yourself without being perceived as boastful, will nourish you for the long haul.
If you’re willing, I would even love to hear your answers to these questions in this moment.
What are you proud of over these last few weeks?
What are you looking forward to?
I celebrate you!
Grace and Peace,
Magrey