Jean Holthaus - Managing Worry and Anxiety: Practical Tools to Help You Deal with Lifes Challenges

W hile this book contains one authors name, it is actually a compilation created by many authors who have composed lines and woven them into the fabric of my soul. The tapestry of my life has been formed, redeemed, and made beautiful beyond anything I could have imagined by their presence, their love, and their words of truth and affirmation. Some have woven strong threads through large sections of the tapestry while others added thin, sparkling threads, giving richness and depth. I cant identify and name each author, but all are important and I am grateful for the sacrifice, love, and investment each has made.

First and foremost, I am grateful for Jesus who relentlessly and passionately pursued me from the moment I drew my first breath. He was unwilling to leave me bereft of love and serving the tyrannical god I believed him to be. His persistent love has changed my life. I cant imagine life without my kinsman redeemer, bridegroom, and friend.

My children, Michelle and Michael, have taught me what it means to love and be loved in ways I never dreamed possible. Michelle, you have been a creative artist since you were old enough to give voice to the music in your head from your car seat. You are an amazing, loving woman who has taught me invaluable lessons about what it is to be an artist. Michael, your tenacity has both brought you through dark times and allowed you to embrace adventure and live life fully. You have boldly struck out into uncharted waters repeatedly in the course of your life. I am both awestruck and challenged by your example. Thank you both for extending grace and forgiveness as I have learned and continue to learn what it means to mother.

Both Suzanne Vogel and Michael Hirsch have been sojourners with me on the journey to find healing and wholeness. I am thankful for their commitment to journey together and grateful for their spouses as well. Sojourning with me required sacrifices from each of them at times that werent always convenient. Michael, there isnt much of life we havent done together in some fashion. I am thankful we are both similar enough to get one another and different enough to challenge and balance one another. Thank you for the countless hours spent sharing life, sacrificially giving of yourself, and just having fun together. I am so glad you are my brother and we learned to be friends instead of competitors! Suzanne, friend is simply too small of a word to describe your role in my life. I am eternally grateful God brought you into my life and you were willing to extend love. You have challenged me, boldly spoken truth, and passionately encouraged me to become who God created me to be rather than settling for being what I could see. Your wisdom, passion, creativity, and steadfast faithfulness are woven throughout the tapestry of my life and the lives of everyone who knows you. I cherish the honest, vulnerable, covenantal relationship we forged on the journey as it has forever changed me.

Paul Hietbrink, you taught me what a fathers heart looks like and what it feels like to be fathered. You embodied the wisdom and love of the Father in ways that gave me tangible experiences of things I could previously not even conceive of. Thank you for seeing beauty in the ashes.

Lee Luhrs, Cal Meuzelaar, and Rita Schacherer, you have each been mentors and teachers along the way who have taken risks and invested in me personally and professionally. You each model what it means to be a therapist and have allowed me to know you well enough to emulate what I observe.

Andrea Doering, this book started with an email from you asking if I had ever thought about writing. It felt surreal then and still feels that way today. I am indebted to you for seeing potential, guiding me through this process, encouraging me, and helping to make my writing better.

Meghan Hirsch, you spent hours turning my cryptic annotations into appropriate documentation, correcting formatting errors, and pointing out sentences that made no sense. Your time has been invaluable, and I appreciate your attention to detail!

Finally, one does not leave graduate school knowing how to be a therapist. The thousands of people who have sat across from me in my office over the last twenty-four years have been the teachers through whom I have learned to be present and to connect with people in the midst of their anguish and their joy. The time I spent walking with and learning from people as they found ways to effectively manage mental health issues fashioned and formed me into a therapist. Thank you for allowing me to share in your journey and learn from each of you. Without you, this book would not be possible.