Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Getting through tough times”
Our Bible verse for today: “Without guidance, people fall, but with many counselors there is deliverance.” Proverbs 11:14 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Get the advice of good counselors to help you through the tough times.”
One of the most traumatic things any of us will ever experience is the loss of a spouse. When you lose your husband or wife your whole world is turned upside down. That’s why one of the first pieces of advice a counselor will give a new widow or widower is “Don’t make any important decisions for a year.” That means don’t sell the house, don’t move, don’t change jobs, don’t make major investment decisions.”
The reason for that restraint and caution is because when we’re going through a difficult time, especially one that is emotionally draining, it’s almost impossible to see things clearly. We simply cannot think straight and therefore important decisions made in that mental state will often turn out to have been wrong – sometimes terribly wrong.
Therefore another piece of advice we counselors give to people going through tough times is, “Make sure you have a few close and trusted advisors to talk to who will help you to think things through.” It’s crucial for us to have people whose insight and judgment we trust, and who will help us to make good decisions during tough times.
Those principles apply not just to the loss of a spouse, but to any difficult circumstances. Because our own thinking will be clouded by stress, emotions, and perhaps even depression, we need the advice of others who can help us to see things clearly.
However a word of caution is in order here too. Not everyone can be trusted to give sound advice and not everyone can be trusted with sensitive personal information. Choose your counselors wisely. Make sure you tell them you consider this to be sensitive personal information and you’re counting on them to keep it confidential.
Getting through tough times is hard; it takes time and it requires good decision-making. A few trusted counselors can make all the difference. But choose them wisely.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 