As a trained psychotherapist, my job is to help my clients develop the tools within themselves to process their emotions in a healthier and productive way so they can live their best lives. I recently entered a role as a volunteer in which I must put aside my therapist hat and put on a different type of hat. I have volunteered to be a part of a team that supports medical providers when they experience traumatic events. It's called "psychological first aid." Our job in this role is not to provide therapy or even "fix" the problem. Our job is to just be with the providers in their distress, listen to them, validate their feelings, and then refer them for further services if needed.
This will be a challenge for me given my background and training, but a worthy challenge nonetheless. This is a position in which we are to just lend ourselves to just be with the provider in need. This got me thinking about what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 12:15: "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." This is a simple yet poignant statement. As those who just want to help, sometimes the best thing we can do is just be with a person who is having difficult emotions.
Even in my capacity as a psychotherapist, sometimes my best work has been during times in which I was just being with my client as he or she wept. I was a container for the pain my client was experiencing. Sometimes, that is all a person needs, to know that he or she is not alone in his or her pain.
I decided to share this with my readers for a very simple reason. I wanted you all to know that you do not have to be a trained psychotherapist to help others. I know a few of my followers personally and I know them to be very kind and caring people. They are always ready to lend a helping hand to those in need. I want them and anyone else reading this who has a heart for others to know that God put you on this earth just for that purpose, to "rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." That is precisely why He equipped you with a kind heart and soul.
There really is no mystery as to what our purpose in this life is meant to be. We are to just be with those who need us. No matter what your station in life, no matter how discouraged you may feel because you think you cannot find your purpose, just know that today, right now, you can make your purpose in this life to be a helper to those in need by just being with them. That's it; just be. You have no idea how important that is! God bless!
