Loving Others and Boundaries
When I think of Spiritual counseling – I think of getting a right understanding of what Jesus and God want, and learning boundaries. Boundaries are the guardrails to our spiritual energy, so that we can do what we are called to do by God, not be bound to people pleasing, and especially to be free of people pleasing those who are taking advantage. Jesus was a great example of serving people and taking breaks, being assertive, being honest, and setting boundaries with people. Get to know Jesus by reading the Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John), looking for these truth bombs to find out what Jesus would really do. Knowing who Jesus really is, sets us free.
Loving Others and Unity
We are made in God’s image and are relational beings. Since we are relational beings, we have a social needs. The need to be accepted, to belong, and to be loved by God and people. Healing from God can take the worst of the pain out, but full healing is likely to require loving relationships with others too. This second greatest commandment in the Bible, to love your neighbor, shows how important relationships are. God is relational, but experiences full unity in his relationship.
We long for that unity, and need to create healthier attitudes and boundaries in relationships. There’s hope in realizing our commonalities in values, goals. It is also important to own our weaknesses, to stay humble and be able to recognize our needs. Healthy healing relationships are where people recognize, validate, regard and carefully consider your feelings, thoughts, and beliefs as much as they do theirs; and you do the same for them.
Loving Others and Feeling Blessed
Many religious ideas are very idealistic, but it is more to describe the need, and why it hurts so much. The command to love one another spurs us to keep reaching out and creating bridges. When we support others, and bless others, we get blessed back. Moreover, we have built the support structures we might need to help us in the future – and ironically they are also helping us in the present! If you’re not feeling blessed by your support for others, or are resenting it in anyway, then it may have gotten out of balance. I can help shepherd you to more accurately weigh, and offer skills how to add balance and find fulfillment in these relationships.