The Struggle of Our Community

I follow a daily blog by one of the big influencers in my adult life, Jim Denison. In his blog, Jim noted the intense growth of loneliness and anxiety disorders. The pandemic fueled that growth even more. Reading through Jim’s comments, I remembered when we surveyed our community many years ago. We were all a little shocked then at the incidence of marriage struggles, depression, anxiety disorders, and children dealing with attention deficit disorders.

That survey gave birth to the Creekbend Center for Counseling and our construction of facilities to house our offices and that counseling ministry. We thought it would take a few years to reach capacity; we were so wrong! The center was operating at near capacity as soon as they opened their doors.

Last week I asked the director about capacity again. During the summer, the load was so heavy that people were waiting three weeks to get an appointment. In the next few days, they will add another counselor and will soon have a dozen different therapists helping people find healing for their hurts. We are starting to realize that the need is greater than we have anticipated.

Why am I telling you this? I ask you to pray for this team and the hundreds of your neighbors who are wrestling with hurt. Pray for discernment so the counselors can identify the roots of these struggles. Pray for spiritual sensitivity as they connect both the mind and the spirit in these healing journeys. And if you are struggling, personally, pray for courage to accept the help and compassion of someone who will walk through that journey with you.