Spring Brings Hope
This winter in Tennessee was intense. It didn’t seem to start until about December and even then we had warmer than normal days mixed in with the frost. Christmas day we sat outside and exchanged gifts…a first for me. Then January came in an we had ice and snow. Thousands of homes went without electricity and I am not sure, but probably a billion pounds of trees and branches came to the ground…quite a pruning.
It is over the mid-March point and signs of spring have been coming up in nature. When I walk Frankie, a mixed rescue pup early in the morning we have been greeted with spring surprises…small daffodils trying to find the sun, fuzzy buds on the trees, a groundhog looking for a morning snack, and even a skunk that was equally surprised to see Frankie as Frankie was to realize this was NOT a cat to be chased. With the scent in our home, we have been reminded of this early morning walk everyday this week. I hope Frankie learned that some creatures are better left alone.
All this reminds me of the hope that spring gives us. I reminder that warmth and the sunshine are coming.
As I sit with clients of all ages, I have realized one aspect of counseling that changes every conversation, interaction, connection and session. That one aspect is HOPE. Over and over my clients want to feel that there is hope for a better way to live their lives. They don’t want to sit with the fear of ‘it will always be like this’. I have been encouraged lately in my ambiguous work. Encouraged because I’ve seen growth and clients reaching for new ways of living and coping in a world that can feel overwhelming, confusing and flat out unfair at times.
I use the phrase, go slow and pay attention, in most every session I have. Growth and change take time, but if we are willing to allow it to be slow and we can pay attention to the small details, the gift of hope comes…because now we are noticing.
Life sometimes takes us on roads that we think lead to a dead end, only to show us there is another way. I wish for you this spring you can find the gift of hope in your life that gives way to good growth and beautiful change.
Article Written by Melissa Lewis
Credentials: B.S. Education, AMFT Masters degree, Certified Prepare-Enrich Premarital Counselor, Member: AAMFT, Professional Educators of TN, Theta Nu Upsilon Counseling Academic and Professional Honor Society, Brain Spotting Trained, EFT trained
