Wednesday, June 10, 2009

From our March 2009 Newsletter

A Story from the Well

We have seen incredible growth in people’s lives. After being referred to me by the counselor in town, John* and incarcerated drug addict, hit rock bottom. After trying to re-enter life and the work force he found himself no different than before. What happened? Listen to his words.
“I have no way of understanding how to like myself. In prison I learned how to be tough and not care about anyone but myself. This kind of attitude obliviously doesn’t work in the work force or in my family. So I just went back to what I was taught and then I lost my job and now my wife is leaving me. I just drink or drug myself to forget about my pain and inability to do better.”

John and I sat down for three sessions and looked at his past and how life wasn’t taught to him in a proper manner and that now he could make a choice to search for significance and reinvent himself. After the second session, John hit a huge depression low and called me to intervene one evening. His kids and wife were in the car ready to leave, his youngest boy clinging to him saying, “Don’t go away again, Daddy!” What an amazing opportunity for God to work. I simply stated to the terrified boy that I wasn’t taking his Daddy anywhere and that I was here to help him. The little boy sighed in relief and let go of him to go with his mom. I went to the mom and said, “Try to be patient as we work through this, give us 30 minutes and then come back home so we can sit and talk.” Reluctantly with tears, she agreed. That night was the beginning of the healing for their lives. Is everything perfect? No. But, John has committed to working on his life and trying to think better about himself. I also shared with him how God was the only way he could find the proper way to think about himself. We are pleased to report that John is now employed and maintaining better relations with his wife and kids. With the help of others in the community we hope to sustain this family by regular checkups and visits to the home. They are now part of the FreshWater family. Thank you for giving.
*Real names of people we work with will never be revealed.
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Helping people find significance and confidence in their lives.

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Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." - John 4:13-14

What is Spiritual Direction?


We define Christian spiritual direction as help given by one Christian to another which enables that person to pay attention to God’s personal communication to him or her, to respond to this personally communicating God, to grow in intimacy with this God, and to live out the consequences of the relationship. (William A. Barry, SJ and William J. Connolly, SJ, Center for Religious Development, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA)

Is it the same as counseling?
Although very similar, spiritual direction provides a place to deal with issues that remain hidden and dark within a person’s soul, many times issues that have been suppressed for so long that the person doesn’t fully realize how much it is affecting them. Counseling’s primary focus is on a plan of action to deal with the effects of woundedness within a person’s life. We will sometimes refer to a counselor when a more clinical, psychological approach would be more beneficial. Spiritual direction’s primary focus is to teach people how to let God accompany them through all of their life, including their past pain. By companioning people in their pain, they will gain confidence from His presence and power.