After several years of trying to ‘work on our marriage’ the traditional ways, my husband and I began to see a Christian Professional Counselor that was referred to us by a dear friend. Had we not gone to see a professional I do not believe we would be married today. I am grateful that Darin was willing to go. In saying that I still believe it is very beneficial to go on your own. It is important to leave your spouse in God’s hands and work on your own heart.
Picture of Jesus
I grew up in a family with 4 kids. My sister and I are the oldest and we have two younger brothers. On the day my youngest brother was born my Mom bought a picture. The picture is a well known painting of Jesus kneeling down in the middle of 4 kids. What was significant about the picture is all the kids looked similar to me and my brothers and sister. We did not know what my youngest brother looked like yet but when he was born he had dark brown hair just like the youngest boy in the picture. Growing up that picture was always up in our house somewhere. In the picture Jesus had his hands on the face of one of the little girls and she is looking right at Him. My mom always said that was me in the picture.
So fast forward. I’m in one of the first counseling sessions and I’m by myself. I’ve talked and shared what had been going on for about an hour and our counselor said lets pray and see if God tells you anything. As I bow my head I immediately remember this picture that my Mom had in the house growing up. In that moment I felt God speak to my heart and say, “just like the little girl in the picture I am right hear, just keep your eyes focused on me, your in the right place at the right time, I haven’t forgotten about you, and to keep trusting Him.”
This might seem so strange for a counseling session but this is exactly what happened. Our counselor then asked me if I was ready for this because working through our issues could take some time. I said, ” I’m ready”!
My circumstances were still just as grim yet I was filled with hope as I walked out of that appointment.
I remember meeting my sweet sister in law at the mall that afternoon. I had planned to go shopping for some new jeans since I had had Macy about 6 months prior and had been wearing sweats all the time. I was so excited about telling her how the counseling appointment went and what God had spoken to me. Somehow it made looking for jeans much more fun!