Last spring, the counseling team led an 8-week adult education class called Turning Pain Into Connection. We talked about walking alongside friends or family members as they deal with hard circumstances in life, listening instead of giving advice, and holding space for people’s hard emotions without trying to solve their struggles. We also talked about being willing to ask for help from God and others, acknowledging honestly the emotions that are “thumping and bumping” in our own hearts, and intentionally building lasting connections with others. At the end of the class, we talked about recognizing when the things you tell yourself in your own mind are untrue.
I must confess, though, that I felt bad about ending the class that way. We talked about recognizing the lies we believe, but we never talked about what comes next. Once you recognize a lie that is holding you in bondage, what do you do? How do you find freedom from those limiting beliefs about yourself, about God, and about others?
It is with a sense of relief, then, that I announce a new, 4-week adult education class that the counseling team will be leading starting today at 11:15. We will be talking about Renewing Our Minds, focusing not only on the Scriptural principles regarding speaking the truth in your heart, as Psalm 15:2 puts it, but also the neurological and mental health aspects of retraining your thinking.
A word of caution: although we have broken this topic into 4 weeks, focusing on a different aspect of the healing process each week, I want to be very clear that this is not a “Simple, 4-Step Process to Solve Life’s Problems.” Growth and healing are not linear processes that can be measured by steps or stages. We will offer you tools, but healing and growth will be a journey unique to you.
Please join us for all four sessions as we support each other in learning these godly disciplines.
O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
and speaks truth in his heart;
Psalm 15:1-2