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Of the three basic “don’ts” of SoulCare taught in this lesson, which one do you most often do? Why do you tend to do this? Of the three basic “do’s,” which one do you tend not to do, and why?
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Of the three basic “don’ts” I tend to to Offer Support. In my Christian walk and my Christian Counseling training, I felt this was the most valuable thing I could offer, especially in the beginning when the person I was ‘counseling’ shared feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy. Prayer has always been my first line of support. Of the three basic “dos”, the one I do least often, I am sad to admit, is “ask deep questions”. There is something in my own ‘interior junk’ that gives me pause to dig too deep into another person’s life unless they volunteer information. If feeling ‘inadequate’ is truly a prerequisite for providing SoulCare, I am definite positioned to be used by God for this purpose.
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The “don’t” which I tend to do is to give advice prematurely. This may come out of an anxiety to help, to make the session useful for the person. It may also come from a gender predisposition to want to fix things.
The “do” which I don’t do often enough is to ask perceptive and open-ended questions to find out more. It may come out of preconceptions that make me think I have constructed the full mental picture of this problem already. Sometimes I also don’t know what to ask.
#SoulCare -
Of the don’ts I tend to back away due to feeling overwhelmed. Of the do’s I tend to not ask questions because I would rather move away from the problem into safer territory.
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Back away when I don’t feel qualified
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I always tend to offer support by praying for or with someone; almost immediately after we sit down to talk. I almost feel called to do that to help them. I am curious but I don’t ask enough questions, because I tend to feel that is putting pressure on them. In reality, it should make them more comfortable.