Do you remember the first time someone asked you to sit with them? Was it at the lunch table in your elementary school? Was it on the bus in middle school? Or maybe it was a seat open on your campus in college. Wherever it was, whoever it was, that feeling of being asked to be seated with someone has remained steady throughout the years. The feeling of belonging. The feeling of being chosen. Today at church, a friend of mine said “I checked the back of the room to make sure you weren't sitting there by yourself” which is another way of saying “Hey, I see you”.

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved entering into sacred spaces with others. I have found the beauty and power in walking through the most delicate and sacred seasons of life with others as well as the most joyous times of life. I have seen the ways my heart has been miraculously shaped by others who have been present in my suffering, and I long to be present for others as well. I believe that it’s in the midst of the chaos, the pain, the confusion, the “when will this ever end” kind of thoughts, where healing can be found.

I like to picture Jesus in a restaurant, the most high end, classy one. The one that you couldn’t even dream of getting into, and he has a seat reserved. A seat reserved for you. And when someone tries to tell the waiter that you aren’t going to show up, Jesus says “this seat belongs to them, and it can stay”. That my friends, is the invitation of this life. Of having a seat open for you, always. And this is my invitation to you: Would you let me pull up a chair for you? To navigate this clumsy, hard, beautiful, sacred life of yours, with you? When someone asks you to sit with them that’s another way of them saying “can I enter into this space with you”? And entering into space with each other is precisely where the beauty of counseling is found. It’s a joy to be here, a joy to hold others' stories, and a joy to be seated next to you.