So I’m back from training camp, and now everyone wants to know what happened at training camp?! Someone told me that training camp is like trying to drink out of a firehose, which is a very accurate description. It was a life changing experience, and there’s so much I want to share. When I got home, I stated writing, but every time I started writing, I felt like there was something missing. I prayed about it, and God told me to wait, because something big was going to happen.
So what exactly did he want me to wait for?
First, let’s go back to the second day of training camp where there was an activity that changed my life. The directions were to write down everything that has had an impact on your life. This is such a daunting task and I did not want to do it. I had the mentality of what’s in the past is in the past, and it should stay there. Towards the end of the activity, we were asked to reflect on our entire life and ask God what we needed to revisit. God brought something up from my childhood, and I was so confused and angry. Why did I need to revisit pain I didn’t even know I had?! I realized I had unanswered questions, pain, and anger holding me back that I wasn’t even aware of. A few days later, one of the speakers explained that to move forward, sometimes you need to go back. Before I was holding onto my past, afraid and unwilling to share anything, and I didn’t realize how selfish I was being. God showed me that the pain from my past doesn’t define who I am. Once I was free from my past, God could use my story to free other people. This changed my entire outlook on my life, my life was no longer my own.
Now back to why God wanted me to wait to write this, he wanted to show me something.
A few days later, a friend of mine shared something tough she’s going through right now, and I knew I was supposed to share it with my mom. After I told her about my friend, my mom explained that since I had told her about the activity from training camp, she had been thinking about her life a lot. Her walls came down and she shared with me some of her pain from her past. I saw my mom starting her walk towards freedom. It took another person to share something painful and be vulnerable until she felt ready to start her journey to healing. God showed me how powerful it is to share your story with other people. Your story is powerful. Your story can help heal other people. This is what changed my life at training camp. So I encourage everyone to take a journey with God back into your past. What are you holding onto? What do you need to release to walk in freedom? Who do you need to share your story with? Your story is powerful, and is meant to be told.
