A New Year's Miracle?

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=250 BGCOLOR="#BBBBBB" TEXT="#080000"> <div> newsletter sign-up:  <A HREF="newsletter_sign_up.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Newsletter sign up"><U>click here</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:wmeades@gmail.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:wmeades@gmail.com"><U>EMAIL WES</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="https://practicalspirituality.wordpress.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="https://practicalspirituality.wordpress."><U>Wes's Practical Spirituality Blog</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.twitter.com/WMEades" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.twitter.com/WMEades"><U>Follow Wes on Twitter</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wesley-M-Eades-PhD/300696692112?ref=ts" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wesley-M-E"><U>Wes's FaceBook Page</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Practical Spirituality"><U>WMEades.com Home Page</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.counseling-waco.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.counseling-waco.com"><U>Counseling-Waco Home Page</U></A></div> <div> ___________________________</div> <div> <A HREF="aboutme.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wes Eades, PhD"><U>Wes Eades, PhD</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="paige.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Paige Cunningham, LCSW"><U>Paige Cunningham, LCSW</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="eric.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Eric Meyer, PhD"><U>Eric Meyer, PhD</U></A></div> <div> ___________________________</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id518.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Making an Appointment"><U>Making an Appointment</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="policies.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Policies"><U>Policies</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="cost.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cost of Counseling"><U>Cost of Counseling</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="helpfularticles.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Helpful Articles"><U>Helpful Articles</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="directions.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Directions to Office"><U>Directions to Office</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="booksummaries.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Book Summaries"><U>Book Summaries</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="counseling.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pastoral Counseling"><U>Pastoral Counseling</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="premarriage.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Premarriage Counseling"><U>Premarriage Counseling</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="enneagram.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Enneagram"><U>The Enneagram</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="faith.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="When Faith Doesnt Work"><U>When Faith Doesn't Work</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.centexintergroup.org/schedule/schedule_local.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.centexintergroup.org/schedule"><U>Alcoholics Anonymous Mtgs</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.theravive.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.theravive.com"><U><IMG SRC="83da03c0.jpg" border=0 width="160" height="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#DDDDDD" TEXT="#080000"> <div> In the Old Testament are the words of a prophet named Hosea.  Since he was a prophet, it was Hosea’s job to try and articulate God's thoughts and feelings to the people (an effort that got more than a few prophets beat up!).  Hosea’s was a particularly difficult task because he was on the scene at a time when the people had forgotten how special they were to God (ever feel that way?).  His words are both tender and scathing.  Among the most tender words are...</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>     "I took them up in my arms, but they did not know that I healed them..."</B></I> <I>(Hosea 11:3)</I></div> <bR> <div> There's a wonderful counseling tool called the "miracle scenrio."  It goes something like this...</div> <bR> <div>      <I>Imagine you are asleep in your bed and its the middle of the night.  Your fairy-god-mother appears and waves her magic wand.  Presto!  All of your problems have vanished. The trouble is, you're asleep and you don't realize you've been healed!  You awaken in the morning and, so far as you know, its simply going to be another day.  Now, what do you suppose would begin to happen--what would you suddenly notice yourself doing, that would make you stop and think, "Hey, something in me has changed..."?</I></div> <bR> <div> The premise behind this tool is that when a person begins to imagine what she would be like when healed, she is more than half-way to being healed.  Once again, the psychologists "discover" what religious faith has been teaching for centuries: <I><B>Our pain does not arise so much from the fact that we are broken as much as from our refusal to accept that we have been healed.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> Now, please <U>don't</U> hear me saying that something is especially wrong with you if you can't simply accept your healing and get on with it.  My own life is testimony enough to the fact that this simple reality is anything but easy to embrace!  Please <U>do</U> hear me saying that your pain and brokeness are not what is most true about you, or anyone else, for that matter. </div> <bR> <div> The air around us is thick with resolutions for the new year.  Most of these resolutions will be discarded long before they’ve had much of an effect, mainly because we end up doubting our ability to change in any significant ways.  Perhaps the words of Hosea can stir some hope in you....  Perhaps the miracle scenario can help you discover some of the key behaviors behind the changes you wish to make....</div> <div>   </div> <div> Your healing has been accomplished.  Your pilgrimage is to accept it.</div> <bR> <div> Happy New Year,</div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>