When I first came to Creative Life Skills Consulting in August of 2001, I was skeptical. Skeptical not only about this place my wife was sending me to, but also about God, life, and death. As I recall, I was doing a lot of soul searching at the time. My father had passed away in June after an 11 month battle with cancer - he was only 63. Death had suddenly become "real" to me. That scared me -- a lot. A friend of ours had told my wife that the counselors at CLSC had helped her considerably when her father had passed away. Although I knew this friend was a Christian, I never seriously considered that my relationship with God would become a part of my counseling sessions. At the time I was searching for a lot of things, yet strangely enough The Lord was not one of them. Instead I had drowned myself in books about "Near Death Experiences", many of which were comprised of stories told by people who had died for several minutes, floated above their lifeless bodies, flown through a tunnel and traveled towards a light only to be swiftly jolted back to their earthly bodies. I spent day after day and night after night
thinking about these stories and trying to understand what my father had gone through when he died. During my initial evaluation session with Monica, I wasn’t sure how I was going to react, knowing that some of the questions would be on a more personal and private level. Although I am a fairly open person, I was afraid that I would be hesitant to answer some questions, or maybe even answer them incorrectly. Granted, there are no right or wrong answers
to these types of questions, but I figured if anyone could mess it up, I could. Needless to say, my session with Monica went well, despite my nervousness. She was very understanding and patient, and when I was obviously confused about a question, she took the time to make sure I
understood. While I was preparing to make my exit that evening, Monica quickly pulled Genie into the room to introduce us. We quickly compared notes on each other’s personalities and heritages, and within a few minutes Monica had to pull us apart so that they could get back to work. It seemed that Genie and I would get along just fine. My first session with Genie was spent chatting about this and that, and eventually lead to the frustrating feelings that I had been dealing with since my father’s death. Due to my tongue’s tendency to ramble on, Genie
spent a lot of time listening to me that first night. In all honesty, she has spent a lot of time listening to me over the past several months! Although I hesitate to give too many personal details about my private sessions with Genie, I would like to make a few key points that I feel could be beneficial to those who might be curious about Creative Life Skills Consulting. My meetings at 4439 NW Gateway have proven to be some of the most fruitful experiences that I have ever had. Genie has allowed me to express myself in a way that is difficult for most people - even an open book like me. Together we have taken the many feelings that have bound me over the past several months and examined their roots, attempting to make some peace with myself, and with God. Please note that I stated, "Genie has allowed me to express myself". She has not forced me to do anything. I wanted to be helped. I believed that
Genie could help me. I believed that God could help me. Together, they both have. For this, I will be forever grateful. I have made a new friend over the past several months. I have also
rekindled my relationship with an old friend. Thank you Genie, Monica, and Regina. Thank you, Lord.
