It's Friday night, but I'm still at work

Today was a crazy day at work. A few of my clients were suspended (a common occurrence with my clientele), so I was thinking it would be a light load day. However, I got pulled into a crisis situation at one of the schools, and it looks like I'll be getting a new client as a result.

The bigger issue of the day was the team meeting we had on one of my toughest cases. Tonight, I have a heavy heart about this client. I keep saying that the client is fascinating psychologically. I've been able to make a connection with the client, and the parents both report the client "thinks a lot of me and talks a lot about me." This is extremely great to hear, but it wouldn't seem so on the surface because the client is so emotionally closed off. And tonight, I just can't stop thinking about them (forgive the incorrect grammar - just can't reveal a gender for HIPAA reasons). My heart doesn't get this heavy very often, which leads me to wonder if something is happening in the client's life tonight. Are they okay? I have such a burden and I want to pray, but I don't have the words. I am glad the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groans (Romans 8:26) because I think my client really needs my prayers tonight. I even called in to work to check my messages in case something was up. No news.

Wow. The way the Spirit works in us when He calls us to be in prayer or focusing on the Lord and what He is leading is really astounding at times. I'm actually very good at leaving my work AT work. It was a concern of friends and family of mine when I talked about becoming a counselor that I would ingest, so to speak, the problems of my clients. That hasn't been a problem. What has happened is that, often, I feel emotionally tired at the end of the day and sort of shut off my emotions. I don't always reach out when I should, and I tend to not take good emotional care of myself.

All that to say this: when I bring work home with me like this, it's unusual. It suggests to me God is really burdening me to seek Him and wants me interceding.

I know it's hard to pray for a specific situation when you don't know details or names. The nature of my job prevents me from sharing those. But if you think of it, please, please, lift up this person. They need the Lord desperately, and I want so much to help them soften and share what is really going on inside them. Please pray that God lays the groundwork for this to happen, pray against my mentality that I have to "fix" this, and pray that this person sees Christ in me, gets hungry for Him, and accepts the Lord.