This past weekend autumn took off her coat and revealed her glory. Our little corner of Kansas is just close enough to the Ozark forests to enjoy a full array of fall foliage and the colors never fail to take my breath away.
But fall for me has become a bittersweet, melancholy season because I know the dark winter waits quietly inevitable at its end. Autumn is a season full of beauty yet punctuated by sadness.
And this feeling can color my perspective at work if I’m not careful.
But I suspect you have experienced a similar downward pull.
Because you too carry the weight of challenges and conflicts, broken systems and toxic family dynamics as part of the landscape we navigate as professionals. You understand the beauty we see on a daily basis is also shaded with sadness at times.
So today I share a snippet of ancient yet timely wisdom. This is for anyone feeling melancholy over the dark and heavy side of your work as an SLP.
For those of you who witness injustice and feel powerless.
For the one who had to report an abuse and will cry on the way home from work.
For those who are forced to confront an administrator and suddenly struggle to communicate precisely.
For those who wrangle fruitlessly with government agencies and feel frustration knot along your shoulders.
For those who of you who are questioning your calling or wonder if your work makes a difference.
May the encouraging language of Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase serve to reorient your perspective. Peter’s words remind us that while we can’t save the world, sometimes the best thing we can do is just the next right thing in love. (I suggest reading it through several times to pinpoint a nugget of truth that speaks directly to you.)
1 Peter 4:7-11 (The Message)
Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!
The SLP in me especially loves the part that says…”if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help.” May we all find hope in the beauty of our current season.
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