Sunday, March 17, 2019

Poem--The Counseling Course


In the last 5 months, Paul and I flew to Pennsylvania three times to take classes at Life Ministries. On the last day, we were all supposed to talk for a minute or two about our experience. I read this, which I am reprinting here by special request of one attendee who wanted to read it to her husband.

The Counseling Course

I thought I would be a dutiful wife
And come with my husband to classes at Life.
I knew all about feelings and stories and such
But Paul was in need of a counselor’s touch.
So we read Larry Crabb and we packed and prepared
And headed to Portland as late as we dared.
Paul on his phone would tell all of gate ten
That six tons of oats should be bagged by his men.
Then we took off for Denver or Phoenix or Midway
Arriving in Baltimore at the end of the day.
Our marriage endured much testing and stress
From rental car lines and baggage claim  mess
We took a wrong exit and had more dissension
When Google said turn and I didn’t pay attention.
It’s good we were headed for three days at Life,
Where they know how to remedy marital strife.
Daily we studied and listened and turned
In papers we wrote, and gradually learned
Of passions and longings, volitional beings
Structures and stories and new ways of seeing.
We listened to others and then in return
We told them our stories and were happy to learn
That here with these folks was a safe place to be
I could even be honest with sad parts of me.
Of course all this time I was trying to see
How the practical husband was faring, for he
Has very few feelings and might be confused
By longings, emotions, and other words used.
But to my astonishment, he was just fine
With classes and small groups and then down to dine.
Meanwhile his wife who knows all about feeling
Was disrupted, confuzzled, and quietly dealing
With things down inside that she couldn’t quite name
How could this be, and who could she blame?
So Paul used his newfangled counseling skills
To calm her emotional upsets and ills.
Then back on the airplane went Paul and his wife
Grateful for all their new training from Life.

6 comments:

  1. "I could even be honest with sad parts of me" Yes! What a beautiful safe place! I want that, & I want to be that for others! I love poems about specific experiences...this made my day!

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  2. Hysterical!!! I love it!!

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  3. I love it! Thank you Dorcas.

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