It all started as a small idea. A little seed of thought that danced around in the back of my mind every now and then: “What if the church embraced mental health services in tandem with the truth of His Word? What if the gifts and talents to support mental healing He gave me were used to glorify Him in different ways, and for more people?”
As an Ordained Elder in the Church of the Nazarene, I have the amazing and yet daunting task of learning and reciting the Articles of Faith that guide what we believe. As I stood before my “peers” on Ordination weekend and rattled them off, one once again noodled around in the back of my mind: “We believe God heals through the use of medical science.” Don’t get me wrong…all 16 are noodled in my brain…but God had gifted me to do something special with this one.
See, we focus on prayer. We petition God for healing. Because we know He can. He is THAT powerful.
I also knew I was a light in a dark world, that often was not able to profess this in many dark places.
God was nudging me to once again do something different about it.
How was I going to use what He had gifted me to move from “prayers for healing,” to supporting and guiding others in seeking and finding true healing from what has now become a true mental health crisis?
I shared the vision and God’s nudge with my mentor. I shared my vision with my then, very new pastor. I wrote out plans. I met with people who were doing the very same thing, prayed, researched, prayed, planned some more, prayed. And finally took a leap of faith, and Anchored Soul Counseling, LLC was born.
Why Anchored Soul? Well, not only does it represent the place that brings me the most peace-any place nautical, but the One who does-the hope that is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls (Hebrews 6:19, NLT)-God. The constant anchor for me in my life and my mental health journey.
Yes, He is the guiding light in my healing, but I recognize this may not be why someone else seeks healing in the struggle they are facing in their life. I have had this anchor in my soul since I began my journey as a counselor, and have counseled countless individuals with a wide array of experiences, religions, and various walks of life. What I find is no matter the faith journey, the life journey for us all is full of sorrow and pain; difficulty and triumph. We all need a compassionate, caring, and gentle partner along on the journey. I can’t wait to join you on yours!
Anchored Soul Counseling, LLC 