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Allender Journal: Chapter Seven
Bibiana Sarmiento
Liberty University
Author Note
Bibiana Sarmiento have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Bibiana Sarmiento
Email: bsarmiento1@liberty.edu
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Allender Journal: Chapter Seven
Allender (2009) introduces his readers to learning how to love we life and interpret your
life and destiny. Allender (2009) states that there are two steps to learning how to love your life;
the first step expresses that one should learn to interpret their life. He states that the individual
should see the contours of the meaning formed by what has already happened. The second step
stated that one should begin writing their life since doing so will bring greater sensitivity as the
individual may face challenges. Allender (2009) states in chapter seven that writing your life can
bring a deeper awe as the individual will be able to see what God has done to redeem the
individual and how they use their story in the lives of others.
After reading chapter seven, I was able to reflect on many events at the time that it
happened it was a challenge but later down the road, I realized that it built a foundation for my
career. One event that I can recall was when I was working at a nursing home for three years. I
enjoyed working at the nursing home as a CNA, but it was a physically heavy job. At the time I
did not enjoy the job and was mainly there because I needed some extra money while I was in
college. Once I got my job as an aftercare coordinator at the detox facility, I realized that the
nursing home was the foundation of my future career. The nursing home taught me how to utilize
my communication skills and be a good listener. At the time when I was working at the nursing
home, I felt stuck and felt that I was never going to move forward, and I found myself stressing
that I would be working as a CNA for the rest of my life. The whole time God had a plan in place
for me already, many times I think that we want to push the fast-forward button or skip
challenging events in our lives.
Allender (2009) talks about how our gifts can change and that God may prompt us to
explore new areas of our giftness in different seasons of our life. I currently work at a detox
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facility as an aftercare coordinator. As a future counselor I would like to eventually work at a
treatment facility and help those who are out of that detox stage and are in a 28-day or longer
inpatient program. I would also like to explore the idea of teaching others about what the
counseling field consists of and what services can be provided. I enjoy advocating for those who
are seeking help but would like to eventually challenge myself to teach those who are interested
in becoming part of the counseling field.
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References:
Allender, D. B. (2009). To Be Told. Random House Digital Inc.
https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9780307457219
