MHoggard_Lesson7

[Margaret Hoggard]

Question 1 – Workbook page 98

I actually completed the EHS assessment at the beginning of Lesson 7 rather than at the end. This turned out to be fruitful as I was able to reflect on my results when I watched the video and completed the text, daily office, and workbook readings and exercises. My EHS assessment results paired with these resources helped me reflect on not only the “obstacles, difficulties, or successes” I had “meeting with God this week using the Day by Day devotional.” As I completed the Lesson 7 activities, I reflected on the ways my level of emotionally healthy spirituality – that of adolescent — posed barriers and shaped behaviors that have been holding me back in developing more meaningful relationships with God and with the people in my life.

Looking at the characteristics of the profiles, I realized that I am functioning as an adult in significant ways at least in some situations, just as, to my disappointment, I sometimes regress to behaviors listed in the adolescent and even in the child profile. One motivational principle from the STEP program (Systematic Training for Effective Parenting) I took part in many years ago came back to me. Progress is like the tide coming in when we are attempting to change our attitudes and behaviors. We move forward only to fall back, and at this point many people will give up. If we keep trying, however, the next time we will move forward a little farther, and even though we continue to regress, we won’t fall back as far. Eventually, and with repeated efforts, our progress will be complete if we don’t lose faith and give up. Reflecting on my profile in the light of God’s love, I see that I have made significant progress towards being an emotionally spiritually healthy adult and for that, I am truly grateful to Him.

A breakthrough I experienced this week was accepting that in fact God not only wants me to have a loving heart but also a joyful one. After praying for the right Spirit, I tried setting the foundation this week to improve a couple of problematic relationships, and I feel in my heart that it was a promising start. In the future, I will be more diligent in asking God for guidance in reaching out to others with love and joy, and perhaps, showing them that these qualities in their hearts are blessings He offers to them too. The prayer from this week’s Day by Day devotions, one I will return to again and again, appears on page 141: “Father, help me to be still and listen to you, feel your embrace, and rest in your love – and then to speak to others from that place. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

[Author]

Posts