So It Sounds Like......
Active Listening is Key to working with people.

"The best sense of security is the eyes and the ears."- unknown.

When someone trusts you enough to share with you what is going in their lives trust and security begins to build.  A major key in their trust in you is when you listen to them. Actively listening can be a very big challenge for people.  We are good at listening, but being active about it can be a challenge.  The speaker shared about the importance of giving an "empathetic response" to people.  As we listen to the people, we need to remember to extend grace to them just as Christ has extended his grace to us.  Our response to them should be that of empathy and grace, with wisdom from the Lord.  I am challenged to show grace toward those who are dealing with things, because my trust with them will grow.
Not only is showing grace a key to ministering to others, we as helpers need to make sure we have proper and healthy boundaries between us and those we are working with. As I went through this last week I reminded how important it is for me to make sure I don't go deeper with people than they are willing to go, and also to make sure not to take other peoples problems, but instead helping them to work through their own issues.  If there are not healthy boundaries co-dependency can occur and an unhealthy relationship can happen.