Caitlin grew up as a listener and observer learning much from those around her. Finding herself interested in psychology from the moment she had the opportunity to take her first class, she went on to major in psychology and receive a Bachelor of Science degree. Following that endeavor she pursued and acquired a Master of Arts in Counseling and now works as a Licensed Professional Counselor. Caitlin joins us to offer anything that God might want to say through this broken (in the process of healing for the rest of this life) vessel to others out there experiencing their own brokenness.
Devastation. Barren. Dark. Charred. Lifeless. If you’ve ever seen the aftermath of a fire these words may make sense to you. While searching for an example of what I’m about to share with you the picture of a wildfire came to mind. Years ago, there was a prairie fire that began near the place I called home at the time. It burned for miles and left the land around us charred and barren.
For the next week or so the fire threatened in little bursts from the ground to reignite. Around the clock someone had to be watching with a water truck to put out small fires that came back to life. I remember during the days after school walking around and stomping out a small flame here and there with my boots. I looked around the home that looked completely different, smelled completely different, and was no longer beautiful country-side with a creek bed lined with trees. Trees were tipped over, charred, and decimated. Grass was gone, all that was left was burnt ground for miles. It was saddening to look at.
We lived there for quite some time after that thank goodness. Long enough to see what came after the fire. Grass grew back to what seemed twice as thick. Slowly over time the prairie came back to life. Wild-life began to come back, more than I had remembered years before. I asked my dad at one point about the grass seeming fuller than it had been. I remember him saying that’s how it works after a fire sometimes. It can make the soil more fertile. Interesting I thought.
“Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better“-Marylin Ferguson. I didn’t know that the grass could be any thicker than it was before the fire. I didn’t know that the ground could come back from a burn like that. I didn’t know if we would ever see the deer roaming, birds flying, or cattle grazing in the way we had before. Interestingly enough, the same can be said for therapy I think.
Sometimes a person doesn’t know the ways in which things can shift, transform, and perhaps be even more fulfilling than before. They simply know something is off, they don’t feel like themselves, maybe they feel depressed or anxious, maybe they know relationships seem to be really difficult. They have maybe entertained the thought of counseling. Maybe that could help, but something seems to keep getting in the way. Fear, stigma, pride, hopelessness, lack of self-regard, or disbelief about this thing called psychology. All of these can keep us from seeking counseling.
However, should you step courageously into that journey you may find the aftermath being quite different than you ever imagined. Some of you may feel like you’re in the midst of the fire right now. Others may feel the fire is over with and the ground around you is left charred. For others perhaps, you’re afraid of the fires that might surface if you begin to look inward. Take heart, “It’s always darkest before dawn”-Thomas Fuller.