A very serious commitment

I finished the introductory counselling course yesterday and got my certificate from WMC. One of the counsellors wrote an "Amen!" next to my last line of my philosophy of life essay, which was: "To me, a good life is simple living and meaningful work grounded on faith in Christ and relationships with people."

The next stage will involve a 12-session intermediate counselling course plus a two-year commitment to WMC as a lay counsellor. I expressed my interest to the coordinators in moving on to this stage.

When I was in a cab returning home yesterday, the weight of my future responsibility suddenly hit me. That if I were to be a lay counsellor, volunteering my time twice a week, I would be directly involved in other people's lives and influencing their thinking and their actions. This was no laughing matter and it was a very serious commitment. There is a short-listing and I am not even sure that I would be chosen among those going on to the intermediate stage. But even before that confirmation, I was already feeling the weight of such a responsibility. This was the first time I had such a feeling and I was slightly disturbed by it.

I prayed to God for His wisdom and His guidance because I was not very sure or confident that I could handle such a responsibility. And I will wait and see if He thinks I'm ready for such serious work.