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Plant seeds of wisdom today Take the next 54 or so breaths slowly and reflect deeply on your life. I hope these words help you grow in you the most valuable treasure in life: wisdom. Wisdom grows imperceptibly but flourishes like a mighty oak, standing the test of time. ​ ​ Read in your browser. ​

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​Last week we talked about how if you want transformation you must change your thinking, your feelings, and your actions. Yet this doesn’t go far enough in describing the process of change.

Transformation is a mysterious thing. Jesus said it was like being born again and that by definition it is mysterious. A spiritual rebirth comes from above. There is a kind of transformation that only comes from God. If we think we can fashion our own radical transformation we are sorely mistaken, either through pride or by being deceived and believing that the material world is all there is.

Yes, there are ‘evidence-based’ treatment modalities. There are techniques, approaches, and ways of being that we see consistently work in helping clients grow and heal. And yet there is a certain element of mystery in the healing process. I’ve learned to rely less on a packaged process and more on a relational, and spiritual process. By relational, I mean that in therapy I seek to love people well. Love comes before transformation. Transformation moves at the speed of applying the truth to our lives as we live connected to others.

When people come into therapy they naturally come in suffering, wanting to stop doing certain things, and seeking to learn to overcome specific struggles. As counterintuitive as it sounds, don’t focus merely on stopping a certain behavior. Don’t even focus too much on quieting your suffering. It is in the midst of experiencing the suffering that you can draw close to Christ and depend on Him and see yourself and the world in a new way.

My prayer for you in therapy is that you would have your soul and spirit shaken to the core. You must experience a spiritual awakening. I hope you will go on a journey and experience something that is very difficult to put into words. I hope the fundamental way you experience God, how you experience yourself, and how you experience a soulful connection with others will grow.

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​Quotes

St. John of the Cross, The Dark Night, in The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross​

Richard Rohr, The Wisdom Pattern​

Questions

What difficulty, struggle, or suffering can you accept today?

What are you trying to control?

Will you surrender what is out of your control to God?

(Use these questions as a journal prompt and to guide your prayers this week)
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Endnote

Instead of running from suffering, accept it, and surrender to God and His loving care. Then take courageous action.

Live wisely,

Josh

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