"Wholehearted living is about engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. It means cultivating the courage, compassion, and connection to wake up in the morning and think, No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough."  - Brene Brown

One of the most common things my clients hear me say: you are not a machine. You need rest. And sleeping during the night doesn't count as true rest. You can't just plug yourself in to charge at the end of the day like an iPhone or a computer. We truly find rest when we are able to sit quietly in the satisfaction who we are - regardless of what we accomplish.  

It is tempting to live life as if our daily "output" determines our worthiness. To live as if finishing a to-do list is the most meaningful thing about us. 

What if you woke up every morning and said to yourself: "No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough?"

If we ascribe to Christianity and to being Christ-followers, we know that God did not design us to be little machines that output: "1 laundry, 4 errands, 3 bills paid." How many laundry and errands and paid bills does it take before we can accept our worthiness? 

We must accept that God does not see us the same way we see ourselves. At times, we only see all of the things we have failed to accomplish. We see all the ways we don't measure up. God sees as as worthy, as new creations in him (2 Corinthians 5:17). He offers us new mercies every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). 

Cultivate your courage, your compassion and your connection so that you can wake up every morning satisfied with the person you already are and have been created to be. True growth will come - not from the things that you accomplish but instead from the ways that you engage with worthiness from the person you already are. 

Transitions within the family can be tough. Significant life changes can bring conflict, confusion, and uncertainty to a family system, uprooting consistency and stability. Family counseling is a great resource to process difficult circumstances as a unit. Seeking family therapy has proven itself to be helpful during difficult transitions including divorce, a move, grief and loss, adding new family members (birth of a sibling, grandparent moving in, etc.), and a new diagnosis for an individual. Fostering healthy family relationships during difficult transitions can help family members adjust to their new norm as a system. Changes in behaviors can often be seen most prominently within the context of the family. Family therapy can be helpful in navigating these life changes.

Some of the benefits of family counseling are as follows:

• Improve Communication: Communication is key in healthy relationships, and can be difficult to attain. A family therapist can help individuals learn to communicate effectively with one another by creating a space where open, honest conversations can happen.
  
• Conflict Resolution: Learning to handle conflict in a productive manner can improve relationships within the family. Therapists can help families to enhance their problem solving skills by providing new techniques a family system can use to deal with conflict.
  
• Family Resiliency: Improving coping skills can help families become more resilient and stable in the face of inevitable challenges that will rise. Family therapists often teach helpful coping skills that the family can use to strengthen the system as a whole.
  
• Create Support: Family therapy can help members learn how to best support one another based on individualized needs. Family bonds are often strengthened through family therapy sessions.
  
• Identify Family Patterns: Within a family system, an individual’s behavior can affect the entire system. Family members can identify unproductive family patterns or dynamics, and make adjustments with the help of the therapist.

In addition to individual therapy, we offer family therapy at Bethel Haven. We would love to help you and your family build healthy relationship dynamics with one another through family therapy.