Sowing and Reaping

I stole that title from Kelly Bourque's blog. She wrote about how she was talking to her husband, feeling like her work as a therapist was feeling "heavy," asking him if it was always like this and whether it would get any better. His response was that she does always feel heavy when starting a new relationship with a client. She's sowing. Eventually she will begin reaping, and seeing the value in what she does.

Today is the first day in my new job that I saw TWO different clients who are both so stable, and doing so much better than the first day I saw them. The first is a 19-year-old girl who had been told her whole life that she has bipolar disorder, always in trouble and fighting and arguing, only to now find out that she is a pleasant, sweet, enjoyable girl who has depression as a result of uncontrolled ADHD. She is wonderful, and her mom is supportive, and they both are happy, and she takes Concerta and Celexa faithfully. The second is a woman in her 40's who came to see me in one of the most severe depressive states I have ever seen. It was difficult to even hold her attention, or redirect her thoughts, due to her nearly-spent overactive autonomic nervous system. After much education and encouragement, she is a bright-faced, well-slept, highly functional individual now who takes Remeron every night before bed and enjoys her life. It's true! The sowing is difficult, and tiring, and seemingly hopeless as you look across the expanse of dead, gray soil exhibiting no signs of life but only of fallow death. But the sprouts are starting to push through, and soon they will be tall and fruitful and filling the field with joyful green! It's hard to do this. But it's less hard when the reaping starts. Do not grow weary.