Priests and Promises
by Cammie Easley
Being a counselor is an interesting calling. I know those of you who visit our office know what it is like to be a client. You know what it’s like to share and have your story received with warmth, compassion, and hope. You know what it’s like to be vulnerable and how it feels to humbly allow another person to hear your most personal thoughts and feelings. I commend you for that. It takes strength to sit where you sit and choose to embark on that journey.
As I think about your vulnerability, I realized that it might be helpful to share my thoughts in sharing the burdens of others.
All therapists at HeartLife desire to follow the Lord as He directs our work with our clients.
We get a front-row seat to see what God is doing in each of your lives and we are amazed at His goodness, His patience, His power to redeem suffering for His glory, and His handiwork in how He has fashioned us all uniquely even though we have much in common.
One thing that is important to share is the importance of doing my own personal work. Unless those of us in the helping profession don’t do the work to heal our own struggles, we will not be very effective in helping you with yours.
Recently, I was reading in Joshua about when God called His people to cross the Jordan River. I have read that story many times. I was amazed by His power, the dryness of the land, the courage to step into the river, and his trust in God. I noticed the priests. I noticed that they were called to enter the water first before the other people. They were called to enter a situation that was frightening and seemed impossible. Not only were the priests called to go first, but they stationed themselves in the MIDDLE of the river while the people passed from one side to the other. Here are these priests who are willing to step into the waters FIRST and then REMAIN in the MIDDLE of the path, waters piling up in mass so that others can make it safely to the other side.
As I thought about this, I realized this is a similar dynamic the counselors serve with their clients. God asks us to journey through our own brokenness and suffering with Him so we can provide comfort and healing to others (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
I realized that the role of counselor today shares a lot in common with the role of “priest” in the Bible. Ed Welch notes in his book, Created to Draw Near, that just like the priests of the Old Testament, counselors today are called to help their clients by: “reflecting God’s presence and nearness to their clients,” “reminding their clients of how far the Lord has brought them and what is true about them,” and “ushering the presence of God into the room.” He urges counselors with a firm warning: “Before priests could protect the holiness of the garden temple, they first had to learn to protect their own hearts.”
So, that is the commitment I make to you today, as a counselor at HeartLife Professional Soul Care. I promise to try to reflect the Father’s love when we meet together. I promise to remind you of your worth and your calling and the beauty of your story. I promise to invite the presence and Spirit of God into the room as the Ultimate Healer. I promise to keep watch over my own heart so that your heart is protected as well.
May we all find lasting peace today knowing that Jesus is our Faithful High Priest who will never let us down.
Meet Cammie!
Cammie graduated with her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in May of 2014 from Denver Seminary in Denver, CO.
Throughout her career as a counselor, Cammie has been passionate about helping individuals of all ages overcome anxiety and depression, heal from past traumas, process their own grief, and develop into the healthy and whole people that God designed them to be.
She believes firmly that seasons of hardship are God’s tool which He uses to make us more like Himself and to reveal Himself to us in ways that we would not otherwise come to intimately know. One of her greatest joys in counseling is helping individuals figure out how they can heal in a holistic way that incorporates their body, mind, and spirit.