Response to the title without having yet read the post:
And if you’re having trouble distinguishing between them, you should add a spiritual director to the mix. That’s not either thing either…but a nice bridge between them.
This is tremendous, thank you. We all need others, and sometimes more intensively than others. Pastors, parents, teachers, coaches, therapists & counselors, doctors, trainers: all are helpful in their own lanes. None are helpful when they try to be one of the other without some good reason (sometimes your parent could also be your coach or doctor or pastor or teacher, for example but even then it's helpful to say which "hat" the person is wearing at what times).
"I feel like I’m on a tightrope, here."
You are. It's why spheres of responsibility and authority are so important. Thanks for writing about something hard and for sharing your journey on this topic with us.
Okay, now I’ve read it. This is an excellent—and brave—post.
Response to the title without having yet read the post:
And if you’re having trouble distinguishing between them, you should add a spiritual director to the mix. That’s not either thing either…but a nice bridge between them.
This is tremendous, thank you. We all need others, and sometimes more intensively than others. Pastors, parents, teachers, coaches, therapists & counselors, doctors, trainers: all are helpful in their own lanes. None are helpful when they try to be one of the other without some good reason (sometimes your parent could also be your coach or doctor or pastor or teacher, for example but even then it's helpful to say which "hat" the person is wearing at what times).
"I feel like I’m on a tightrope, here."
You are. It's why spheres of responsibility and authority are so important. Thanks for writing about something hard and for sharing your journey on this topic with us.