Jimbo's Jots

There’s a foundational truth that you need to hear!

You are a person! You are God’s person! You are a child of God!

As a therapist, many times I have to start clients with this foundation. Sure, my clients come to me because they are struggling with anxiety, a broken relationship, hurt from life circumstances and seeing no way out. In all of these sessions, the clients only focus on what is wrong with them, life, circumstances. They cannot and do not see anything good about what’s going on and even what good is in them.

Just recently when working with a couple, I began to notice some of the language from each of them that screamed self doubt and poor self worth. So we did an exercise – totally changed what I was going to do. I had them write down three things about themselves that they liked and also three things about their partner that they liked. We then had each of them share what they wrote down while practicing listen skills. In other words, by speaking these affirmations out loud, they heard their own voice say something good about them, and they also heard each other say three things about them. 6 affirming words given in a matter of minutes.

Often times, I will have a client reflect on these words:

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. (Psalm 139:13-14, NLT)

In other words, say it with me, “God doesn’t make ________________!” (To fill in the blank, you probably said JUNK.) When God made you, he made something special. Junk is something that can be thrown away! You are not a throw away item. People that come to me for counseling services feel broken, not that their situation is broken and they have no solution. They feel as if they do not have the capacity to fix the circumstances because they feel broken and no good.

God says, “You are handmade by me! You are my artwork! You are my masterpiece on display!” Remember that! Those are not my words, those are the words of your Maker! Soak that up for a while! Live as a masterpiece of God!

Be blessed and be a blessing!