Therapist, podcast host, servant, daughter and sister. Sharing a piece of my journey through the lens of love. Listen to my podcast on any platform where podcasts are available. Search for Faith love and Therapy or follow the link below.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/faith-love-therapy/id1530481064
This season can be difficult for a number of reasons, however, the decreased day light hours and dropping temperatures are often a driving force for increased depression. Clinicians can experiences an increase in new clients but also notice clients may begin to isolate and avoid connection. Avoidance has led to painful loneliness and unhealthy coping strategies.
More than 10 million people report experiencing seasonal depression each year. Research indicates that preventative strategies can be useful. Preparing a winter plan is a great step to decrease symptoms. Explore supportive friends and family members, resources for connection online or in-person, artificial light sources, and healthy coping strategies.
Consider devotionals, study guides, or faith based groups that may provide resources and community support. Our faith is a strategy for every difficult seasonal. Faith coupled with therapeutic resources can be just what the doctor ordered!
If you need additional support, I’m conducting an 8 week Virtual Group. Thursday Evenings beginning October 23rd 7:30pm -9pm EST. There is a one time $25 registration fee. To register Comment “Link” or email seedsoflovellc@gmail.com
Overcoming stigma and receiving God’s living water
Recently I recorded a Facebook live about the woman at the well and what lesson’s we can learn while healing from divorce. Feel free to watch by click this Facebook link.
I had been drawn to the story of this Samaritan woman, long before my own divorce in 2018. Her story has been one that I’ve always wondered about. Specifically, the fascination with her 5 husbands. I mean, I get it. In a culture where men had multiple wives and concubines, we don’t read or hear much talk of a woman having multiple husbands or divorces. But I could never draw the energy to point the finger solely at her even though the text is centered around this woman. I’ve struggled with assuming she was somehow defective, as so many of the sermons I’ve heard throughout my life would like to convey. I feel differently about her, I feel compassion towards her.
It wasn’t until recently that I began to put more language to what I’ve be feeling about her. As I read her story again in the book of John Ch. 4, I said audibly, “that’s a lot of grief“. She has literally lost 5 husbands, and we have no knowledge of what led to the demise of each of those relationships. Yet many focus on how messed up she must be.
Biblical marriages could occur as soon as a young girl was able to get pregnant. I’ve seen a picture in the Bible Museum, located in Washington DC, of a Samaritan couple engaged to be married. The two individuals pictured were 10 years old! I struggled to be married at 32 years old, my brain cannot even conceive of marital responsibilities at the age of 10! I understand that the traditions, lifestyle and support available would have been different for her, however, the fact remains that 10-year-olds don’t have a fully developed mind but were expected to remain married. Wow. I can’t help but consider these things when thinking of this Samaritan woman and wonder what her experience was. I believe she experienced and carried a great deal of pain. I know the pain of ending a marriage even when the relationship needs to end. The grief is heavy. The hurt, the loss, and the process of starting over is filled with many tears. Many women who have experienced divorce struggle with a loss of identity. After years of operating within a specific role, with expectations and a routine that supported a life rooted in being a wife. Who am I now? is such a common question.
This woman at the well has endured 5 losses by divorce, possibly death, or even abandonment. She’s rejected and outcast from her community. God knows this and even seems drawn to this. John 4 says he leaves “Judea on the way to Galilee, and that he “must/needs” to go through Samaria”. This divine encounter set to occur with this woman, at the well she visits daily to draw water, is necessary. He understood her pain, the grief, and the influence that her deliverance would have on so many Samaritans. God’s encounter was an invitation to step into this woman’s God given identity. To drink from a well that never runs dry. To birth a well of water within her that can sustain her for life.
This intimate encounter reminds me that God brings water to the thirsty, no matter if it’s spiritual thirst, mental thirst, or physical thirst. He is the source of a new identity, completely designed by him. His invitation to the woman was an invitation to me and every divorcee that is willing to draw from his well.
So Drink, Worship, and Know that He has come so that we might have life. He didn’t come to condemn but to provide a cure for the grief, the thirst, the rejection, the shame, and the loss.
Summer of 2023 was my last post. November of 2023 was my last podcast episode. Not my final of either but the beginning of a necessary break. The beauty of these online spaces is that there is always content for listeners and readers to consume. The online space is full of good, great, and not so great content. I would not dare to say which category my content is in because truly it doesn’t matter. This space has been a place to explore what works and what doesn’t work. A space to build confidence and be challenged to grow.
As the challenges came, so did the stress, and at times, doubt.
A break was needed.
I began to feel overwhelmed with identifying guests and considering what would be beneficial to my small but loving audience. I struggled with this. My audience tends to be quiet listeners, family supporters, and a few friends. I began to wonder what my audience would like rather than why I started this page and podcast. My opening declaration of “A podcast to Encourage and Inspire” “Being God led and God inspired” felt distant as I wrestled with what would be well received by viewers. Is pleasing the audience important yes, is it my purpose, no.
I encourage breaks. They are an opportunity to rest and reset. In a hustle culture that seems to be racing towards early destruction and death, the importance of slowing down has been suppressed and exchanged for the rest when you die mindset. I just can’t get with this thought process. It is devastating the minds and physical wellbeing of humanity. You need a break. You need to rest. You need to reset and so do I.
So I took a break…. and the break has lingered nearly a year. I will say that the break was productive, as I completed seminary with a degree in Christian Education. I attended conferences, shows, and studied topics that I found interesting. I traveled and read books. I became a lover of audible and have been eating up my credits as soon as I get them. I’ve gained some clarity and have prioritized listening to God over speaking. It has been time well spent and I proud of myself for saying that…So now what?
I am building with God. I feel less pressure to put together content and/or find someone to interview. I desire to share what God has placed on my heart, when it’s appropriate, and nurture the people that he has called me to. I decided that my content must reflect God’s love and his assignment for me. In my life I feel compelled to center God, my own health, and meaningful relationships. This can be difficult at times but I refused to be consumed by the pressure, fear, or the negative opinions of others.
In closing, I pray all future content is a reflection of the words and instructions God has given me:
I want to share some of my thoughts on a few simple recommendations that I find extremely important. I have created a mini ebook that I have linked below. Click the Ebook Link
As we grow in our faith, we realize that some things must go. I’ve have had the opportunity to see other christians grow in their faith within the therapy space, and as I work with them I am reminded of the masks we all wear. These masks have protected us in a number of ways, but I often ask, what happens when we don’t take off the mask? What happens when we build an identity that caters to the mask and not to our truest self. I believe we begin to live disjointed lives, void of the realty of who we truly are. We begin a game of charades that seems to never end. We become consumed by acting and gesturing for applause.
This habit of acting and gesturing in body of Christ leads to a dismembering of the body. It causes deprivation to the members of church, in our personal lives and as a collective. Our uniqueness is intentional and necessary for the growth and expansion of God’s kingdom. It is not a mistake yet we find ourselves wearing masks, acting and gesturing in order to present ourselves as a package that is “acceptable.” It is true that we are to “present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service;” (Rom 12:1) remember there is an expectation of honest surrender and submission. God loves the real you. The authentic you.
In the episode linked above I’m sharing 3 struggles that I consistently see believers wrestling with. These challenges hinder us from living authentically. I invite you to read the poem below by Paul Laurence Dunbar and also listen to the podcast. I hope you share your thoughts. God Bless.
Faith Love and Therapy Podcast 