Page 11 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 22

Laurie A. Tone Ph.D., LPC-AZ; LMFT, LMHC-FL
Laurie serves as an adjunct professor of counseling and a prac�cum/
internship evaluator at a Chris�an University in Phoenix, Arizona. Laurie,
her husband and children served for many years as missionaries in La�n
America and Florida. She has extensive experience in cross-cultural
counseling. Areas of specializa�on include member care of cross-cultural
workers and counseling approaches that include physical, emo�onal and
spiritual integra�on. Laurie and her husband serve in various ministry
endeavors in their local church. They are blessed parents of two grown
daughters, a son-in-law, and this year have welcomed their first
grandchild.
Laurie A. Tone (USA)
Former contribu�ons in our eJournal by Johannes you can see her:
h�ps://emcapp.ignis.de/14/#p=170
h�ps://emcapp.ignis.de/15/#p=112

You will be Called Repairer of Broken Walls:

A Reflec�on for Chris�an Counselors

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old founda�ons; you will be
called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings (Isaiah 58:12)

Broken Walls. We’ve all seen them and if we down lives. Similar to the walls in biblical �mes,
stop to ponder, we might ask what happened? lives without walls, borders or boundaries are
Why is this wall broken down? The Bible makes chao�c, le� defenseless, with no iden�ty and
many references to walls. We have the example subject to enemy a�acks. From a counselor’s
of the wall of Jerusalem, the walls of Jericho, perspec�ve we o�en find those who seek ser-
references to the watchmen on the wall. The vices come with broken down walls. Some lack
book of Proverbs says that a person who lacks iden�ty, have poor boundaries or they feel
self-control is like a city whose walls are broken their lives lie in ruins and rubble. Scripture
down (Proverbs 25:28). The imagery of a bro- offers a glimpse of the role of a counselor called
ken wall around a city does li�le for a modern to walk alongside another and help rebuild the
day reader. When we think of ci�es, we rarely walls, help bring order to the chaos, hope to
think in terms of walls. But when ancient ci�es the hur�ng, and restora�on to the brokenness.
were built, the walls around them were built
first. Walls were an integral part of the city’s Lessons from the Book of Nehemiah
iden�ty and character. The walls provided pro- Rebuilding broken down walls brings to mind to
tec�on; territories were marked and boundari- the book of Nehemiah who was famous for re-
es were in place. Ci�es without walls were de- building of the walls around Jerusalem. Nehe-
fenseless and vulnerable to enemy a�acks. It miah’s steps to rebuilding the wall was not an
was a disgrace to have a city’s walls in disrepair. overnight project. In fact, before he began he
If walls are a sort of boundary then broken took several cri�cal steps we can learn from.
down walls might be analogous to broken

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