Part of the counseling ministry of "Caring for the Heart" is praying.  As counselors, we were encouraged to pray with the hurting person and lead them in specific prayers.  I was really excited about this because I am passionate about prayer and the power of God to heal as we seek Him.
What was unique about this approach was if the person was stuck in their pain and struggling to pray, the counselor could ask Jesus, "Can you show ______ a picture of his/her heart when this pain was happening?"  And many times, that person would see a picture, or maybe a word or phrase that revealed emotionally what they couldn't identify with words alone.
Some saw walls of steel.
Some saw a picture of Jesus with His arms extended to embrace them.
Others saw a child cowering and crying.
In processing the conference at home, Walter and I prayed together about what God was showing us. We were seeking how the Lord could help us apply what we heard to ourselves before trying to use this approach in counselling others.
And while we were praying, I saw my heart, very plump and red, but enclosed in a wooden box.  As I shared this picture with Walter, we tried to examine it with discernment.  What did this mean?  He asked me for more details and I realized I could see the heart through the top of the box, so the lid was gone.  I took that to mean I was open to the Lord, not trying to hide my heart from Him.  That gave me joy!
Then I realized two sides were actually open towards myself, from where I observed, and to my right. I took that to mean I was beginning to share my heart with Walter and myself (we are one) but I knew I was still blocking from some people in my life.
The word I came away with from last week is HOPE~there is no one beyond Jesus' kindness and there is no problem too huge for Jesus' healing.