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By
Dr. Bill Gaultiere
Executive Director of New Hope
"I'm
going crazy," cried Maria (not her real name) to Paul, a
New Hope counselor late one evening. "I can't get that terrible
car accident out of mind," she continued. "Oh, my chest
hurts, I can hardly breathe... I think I'm going to faint, I'm
so dizzy... I can't believe she died. She was just a young lady...
in her 20's and I killed her. I killed her! Oh, I'm never getting
behind a wheel again. I'm too scared. I'm shaking and sweating
just thinking about it."
"Maria,
it sounds like you're having a panic attack," replied Paul.
"Take a few deep breaths and tell me what happened."
"It
was just last night... It seems like it's still happening... I
can't stop my car in time. She came from nowhere. I was just driving
home from the hospital where I work as a nurse. Oh, I can't believe
this! I help save people's lives and heal their wounds, but I
killed this lady! I tried to help her. I tried..." Maria
cried and cried.
"It
wasn't your fault," Paul reassured her.
"She
was bleeding all over. I got her blood all over me. I realized
she was dying and I couldn't save her. I just sat with her until
the ambulance came and told her that God loved her. Then she died."
Maria talked
with Paul on the New Hope line for 40 minutes before her panic
subsided and she calmed down. Paul mostly listened, offering a
few supportive comments and encouraging her to follow up and share
her feelings with her family and a pastor at her church. Before
they hung up Paul prayed for Maria. She was so grateful to him
and to New Hope for answering her desperate call at such a late
hour. Now she felt like she could get some sleep and face the
next day. Paul also was thankful. He had been used by God to bring
much needed comfort to Maria.
You too can
be used by God to comfort hurts and calm troubles. Tuesday evening
May 4th New Hope is training additional volunteers to answer calls
that come into the Tower of Hope 24 hours a day on (714) NEW-HOPE.
At the same time we're training internet counselors to help people
in our private online counseling center at www.newhopeonline.org.
(Internet counselors may serve from their home computers.) For
more information please call Susan Balk at (714) 971-4123.
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