This is a tired man writing. It is Thursday night, which is my Friday, and I am sitting in the mall parking lot. I just grabbed some Greek food from the food court, and as I get ready to drive home, I realize I barely have the energy left to do it. Counting my two groups, I think I logged about fifty four therapy hours this week.
Still the Most Satisfying Work I Know
And still, even running on empty, this work is more satisfying than anything I have ever done. It is a kind of fulfillment most people never get to experience in their careers, and I do not say that lightly. I spend my days watching people grow, heal, and handle their problems in real, effective ways. It is exhausting at times, but only because I am giving my clients the very best of me, not the leftovers.
They pay me for my education and my experience. I give them my heart for free. It is a genuine honor to serve people this way, and I have never gotten used to it. They come to me with nothing but blind faith. Faith that their situation can actually improve, and faith that I can help them move toward something healthier than what they have known. And most of the time, that is exactly what happens. I get to witness people take courageous steps to build the future they have ached for and repair a past that brought them so much pain.
A Vocation That Doubles as a Calling
I thank God for the chance to do this. Few people get a vocation that doubles as a calling, and I do not take it for granted, even on the nights I am scraping the bottom of the tank. There is a weight to being trusted with the most fragile parts of another person's life, and it is a weight I am grateful to carry.
Now I have got a three day weekend ahead of me. Here is the part a lot of helpers get wrong, so I am saying it on purpose. I am going to rest and restore, so I can show up at one hundred percent come Monday morning. That is not selfish. It is stewardship. Because the people who will walk into my office next week deserve a man who took care of himself first. You cannot pour from an empty cup, and the men and women counting on me deserve a full one.