Last week we had a session with our fearless leader Teresa! She gave a lesson on vulnerability. Most people do not like to be vulnerable but it can actually be a great thing. Yes it opens you up to the ability of being hurt by others, “judged”, and being vulnerable is often times sharing unpopular opinions but it can bring Freedom! Freedom for ourselves and freedom for those who listen that may have been dealing with the same hurt, pain, situation.
Not being vulnerable can lead to numbness by not dealing with whatever is going on which then leads to running towards other coping mechanisms like food, relationships, drugs, alcohol, etc.
But…Vulnerability is having faith, being courageous and it is contagious. Once someone opens up, others will feel more comfortable to do the same.
Most of us have never taken the time to think back to why we made some decisions in our lives or went down the wrong path. We don’t think of why we may be closed off, afraid of commitment, addicted to drugs, alcohol, porn or acting out in certain areas like giving our bodies away to feel some kind of affection or being angry and using harsh words against others in our lives.
Some of us may have never even thought about this either until last week.
Teresa is on FIRE for the Lord and wants everyone to receive the hope, healing and forgiveness that she has received. After she shared her story starting from childhood to current day, she opened the floor for the Squad to be vulnerable and share our stories.
To share what we have struggled with and continue to still struggle with
To ask forgiveness or to forgive others in our lives
To share memories in our lives that may have shaped who we are and times in our lives that we may have never even told our family and closest people in our lives.
To share areas of our lives that we are shameful of
To get anything off our chest we want to let go of
To even open up to our team so we can understand each other better and encourage each other in different areas
Teresa’s story inspired most of us to get up and share in front of the whole squad what we may consider the deepest, darkest part of our past.
I AM SO PROUD OF OUR SQUAD! YOU ARE BRAVE AND COURAGEOUS!
This wasn’t easy for us and for some of us, this was the first time sharing our story.
Not that I would want anyone to have gone through the pain that they shared but in that moment I was reminded that God has a plan even through our pain, hurts, and brokenness. He has chosen us even through our mistakes and bad decisions, to be here, on THE WORLD RACE, serving and loving others while also growing in our relationship with Him. I am still in awe of how I ended up here and it’s all because of Him. He wants the best for us, we just have to seek after him and Trust him even during the hard times.
Matthew 7: 7-8 (The Passion Translation) – “Ask, and the gift is yours. Seek and you’ll discover. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. For every persistent one will get what he asks for. Every persistent seeker will discover what he longs for. And everyone who knocks persistently will one day find and open door.”
If anyone reading this has things in the past that may be too hurtful to talk about or things you are struggling with, talk to someone about it. It could Free you from a life full of pain, regret and shame. If you are not ready to share with someone, share with God…even just talking it out loud or writing it all down could bring you healing or at least bring you some clarity of maybe why you feel the way you do or why you have felt a certain way in the past.
I know I am away for 11 months and may not always have internet access but please feel free to email me at [email protected] if you want to share your story or even ask for prayers! I can also be reached via private message on insta or facebook and even on whatsapp (an app you can get on your phone to text, call, facetime internationally if you have wifi or data).
Psalm 103:8-12 He does not repay us according to what we deserve and removes our transgressions so far from us they not longer stick with us. Our sin is not our identity.
Thank you for reading this!!
Love you!
Kristen
