The Good Counselor Project: A Needed Renewal

By Ryan Bonomi

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I’ve never woken up in the morning and thought that I looked older than I did the day before. In fact, I’d be pretty confident in saying that every day I look nearly identical to the day before.  

Yet, I undoubtedly look significantly different than I did 10 years ago. We can all understand why that is. Aging is subtle. It’s really only once you look back or are confronted with an older image of yourself that you see you have changed.  

The same is true for the spiritual life and our relationship with God. I never really wake up and feel that I am less strong in my faith or further away from God than I was the previous day. Yet, I undoubtedly have had countless times in my life where I have looked back over a stretch of my life and realized how far I had fallen away. Everyday life has a funny way of moving you centimeters away from your faith. It feels negligible: just a little compromise because of how hectic things are. But day after day those centimeters build up, until one day you are miles away from where you once were but still think you are as close to God as you have ever been. Unfortunately, no picture can capture moments when our hearts were on fire for our faith. We need other catalysts, movements of grace, to show us how we have fallen and to bring us back.

The Good Counselor Project Fellowship retreat was one of those catalysts for me. The retreat was one of those experiences where coming in I didn't realize I was in need of a spiritual pick-me-up. But once I was in it, I immediately saw how much I was longing for something just like this. It was such a blessing to be around so many intelligent and devout people and to be able to do that in such beautiful places. There is something so revitalizing in being around a group of like-minded Christians who are so committed to their faith. It always amazes me how fast you can bond and feel close to someone you just met when you share that faith connection.  

The experience also humbled me. In my day-to-day life, I’m typically surrounded by people who mostly don’t have faith, so I often feel I’m much more devout than I am, as they are my primary point of reference. But this retreat was filled with Christian attorneys from all over the country whose hearts were so obviously on fire for their faith. Being in that environment left me feeling completely outmatched intellectually and spiritually, but in a way that inspired me to become better. The same way photographs reflect to us the way we age, the forty-something other people on the retreat reflected to me all the ways I have fallen short and all the ways I could be a better Christian.

That is not at all to say that this retreat left me feeling “less than” or in despair the way I might when I compare my life to friends or to famous people on the internet. In fact, what surprised me the most - and my biggest takeaway from this experience - was how much I laughed on this retreat. I think that was a beautiful reflection of the joy-filled nature of those who meaningfully and sincerely pursue their faith. It is likewise a testament to the wonderful atmosphere that was curated by the leaders of this program, who care so deeply for creating an authentic Christian community for lawyers. Finding the Good Counselor Project and then getting to experience that community has been a true blessing. So I would like to say thank you to all those who organized this retreat and to all the wonderful people I got to meet. I hope that many more people get to find similar comfort and inspiration from this program moving forward. And I hope this program builds, not just a professional network, but a powerful community of like-minded, life-long friends.

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