Biblical Counseling

A few years ago, I sat outside at a park with a friend, just talking about life. Our hopes, our dreams, and our present realities. She looked at me and said, "I'm really wondering what my next steps are going to be. My next thing. Is there anything you've been wanting to do differently in your life? If money weren't an issue, what is one thing you'd like to pursue doing?"

She got me thinking. I said, "Well, I've never told anyone this, but I'd like to go back to school and get my master's degree in counseling. Not just any counseling, though. Biblical counseling." After serving as a counselor in the connection center in my church for several years and after teaching countless women's Bible study groups, I found a had a real passion and gift to listen well and counsel others with Biblical advice. Even in a public school, I stayed quiet often, but my coworkers often came to my classroom before or after school to talk about their problems and ask for prayer. They said they came to my room when they just needed to feel a sense of calm (aka--a sense of God's presence).

"I could really see you doing that, being a counselor. You'd be really good at it." 

I chewed on the idea for awhile after that day, and eventually I announced to my husband that I made a decision. "When David graduates from college, it's my turn to go back." Most teachers get their master's in something related to education or administration. But just like I didn't want to pursue a degree in education the first time around (I got a degree in Christian Ministries), I had no desire to go any further in the world of public education. Once I got my master's in Biblical counseling, that would be my ticket out of the public education world.

I finally had a goal, a dream, a financial plan to make it happen without any loans, and it didn't seem that far away. I'd waited this long already to go back to school, what would another few years be? But once you have that thought in your head, even a few months can seem too far away. 

And then God interrupted all my plans and called me into full-time ministry a few years before I planned. Well, about twenty years later than I expected, but then about five years earlier than I planned for financially. I moved halfway across the country for a much smaller income, with David only halfway through college, and I will have to admit that I wondered how my new plan to go back to school in a few years would fit into this mix financially. 

God has a way of letting us know that he knows our thoughts even when we don't voice them. He knows our gifts and our passions, our hopes and our desires, and he places us very strategically so they can be of use for His glory. 

As I sat in week 2 of our training here at New Song, I couldn't help but sense God tapping me on the shoulder when I read the agenda for the afternoon. "Intro to Biblical Counseling." 

For the next hour, we sat around the table discussing how the entire ministry at New Song revolves around giving Biblical counseling in every issue that arises with each child that resides here for any length of time. Any opportunity to counsel a student Biblically trumps all other activity, including academics. An assignment or test can wait. A chance to plant God's word in a child's heart in a teachable moment cannot. 

I may not have that degree yet, but God knew my heart and my desire, and He gave me a prime opportunity to put that gift and passion into practice on a daily basis here at New Song. I only have one student for the time being, but I am reminded of the amazing opportunity to teach him about Jesus first thing every morning and to then pray over him before he even starts working for the day. 

Looking back to that conversation with my friend at the park, I realized that God ordained that conversation. He planted that desire in my heart to start mentally and spiritually preparing me for a task ahead that I never saw coming.