The Well

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What is The Well?

Facing trauma is a challenging journey, but I share my story with the hope that it might inspire you to gather the strength to take a step toward progress. Remember, with the presence of Christ, there are no limits to what you can conquer.

Speaker 1:

Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of The Well. My name is Drew and I am so happy that you've chosen to click on today's episode. Today's episode is going to be the last episode of season one. I am so grateful to God and to all of those who listen in every other week.

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This podcast is now being played in seven different countries, 42 cities and my mind is blown. God has honored my obedience to just get out there and do something. Before I turned on the microphone, I was sitting with the Lord and I was just pondering on where I was when I first launched this podcast in October versus now. And there aren't enough words to express my gratitude to the father because it took a lot for me to believe in the gifts that God has given to me. It took a lot for me to believe that I have a voice and that I can use this voice and that people will listen to my voice.

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And we're just getting started, know, it doesn't stop here. I'm gonna continue to grow in those gifts. The Bible talks about how we go from glory to glory, from faith to faith, and that's exactly what we're gonna do. I can confidently say after everything I experienced, I've learned a lot, you know, after doing season one and all of the episodes and I know that season two is gonna be even greater than this. I do have a vision for season two.

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I know what the desires of my heart are and how I want it to be and look like, but I do need to continue seeking God about it. I'm not sure when he's gonna have me launch season two, but we'll see. You know, if it were up to me, season two will be launched in June or July. But again, that's just me. I need God to approve and to confirm before I make any moves.

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If you haven't already, please review the podcast through Apple or Spotify, whichever one you listen through and give it a rating. I would love to hear from you. I would love to hear topic suggestions, whatever it is that you want to say, I would love to hear it. So in today's episode, I want to talk therapy for a little bit. My last two sessions of therapy have been really emotional, really eye opening, and I want to share some of it with you.

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I have been battling internally with this concept of change. I've never liked change. I will resist change until I'm miserable. And I've been asking myself some of the hard questions to figure out how all of this kind of came to be within me. Like, where does this fear of change stem from?

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How come I don't like change and different things like that. And during church, a couple Sundays ago, I was just standing in silence during worship and the Lord began to show me some of the answers to the questions that I was asking in my heart. He showed me that the root cause of where all of this discomfort around change comes from has everything to do with me. I've been afraid to change. And I realized in that moment that maybe the reason I don't typically tend to go after a lot of the things that I desire, you know, I can be very slow moving maybe because I recognize that once I change, then everything else in my life changes too.

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And that's scary. With that, like there are so many things that we can often sweep under the rug, not realizing that what we're sweeping under that rug is having a huge impact on the way that we live our life. God began to show me some of the experiences that I had and not only high school, but even recently, where some of my peers would make change seem like a bad thing. I can remember maturing in school and not wanting to be a part of different social settings, not wanting to do some of the things that I used to do. And as a result of that change, different people in my life would say things about me that showed me they were bothered by my growth.

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They'd be like, oh, Drew, she's changed. She thinks she's this and she thinks she's that. And so I'm taking on this mindset that change is a negative thing without realizing it. And I'm internalizing this idea that if I change, people aren't going to like me, they won't accept me. I can't change because I need to feel that acceptance from other people.

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Mainly because I always just felt different. I'm different. And I always struggle trying to figure out where I fit in because of that. So I would conform to whoever I was around. Like, I'm around my friends.

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So I'm gonna act this way. If I'm in a relationship, okay, this is how I'm gonna present myself. Church people, alright, this is how I need to act. And so I really didn't fully grasp what God meant when he talks about guarding your eyes and your ears, right? Guarding your heart.

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Because one thing about me, I'm sensitive. I'm a very sensitive person. That's a part of who I am. That's a part of who God has made me to be. I have a heart of compassion.

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I feel things deeply, right? But me not realizing or even accepting this truth about myself back then caused me to take in all of these opinions that people had about me, their thoughts and feelings about me and make them my own. Making them my identity without realizing that change isn't a bad thing. We have literally been created to evolve and change. Change and growth is necessary, especially when we're in a season of transition, right?

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You can't enter into a new season of your life holding on to dead weight, you're meant to change. And so my break through in therapy this past week was about finally getting to a place where I can accept the fact that change only makes those who are comfortable staying the same feel bothered. You're annoyed with my growth because you benefit from who I used to be. And that's personal to you, right? Like that has nothing to do with me.

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And when I realized this, when I did EMDR and I like had my moments, this freed me because I have allowed the opinions of other people to dim my light for so long and now I'm done with it. It has nothing to do with me. And I had to be real with myself about that. Why on earth am I going to allow people who think they know who I am to define me? There's a quote that says, if you didn't die for me, you don't get to define me and it's the truth.

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I don't care what you think you know, what matters is who he says that I am. And so I ask you today, who does God say that you are? Because see a lot of the time people will label you from a place of their own insecurity. This is why it's very important to be careful about what you accept from other people because you have the ability to reject whatever label people try to place upon you. Not everyone is gonna be for you.

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Not everyone is gonna be able to see you as God sees you. They can only see you from their own human point of view. You have to allow God to free you from the opinions of other people. I'll never forget, I went to a prophetic conference at my previous church a few years ago and the woman speaking called me up to the front. And in short, this woman looks at me and she goes, the Lord wants you to know that you're different.

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And she said, he wants you to know that a lot of your peers in school think that you are something that you're not. And then she said, the Lord wants you to know that you have never presented yourself that way. Those people just don't understand the favor that is upon your life. And I speak the same over you. They don't get it.

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You're different on purpose. And as I've matured in my walk with God, I've come to realize that this is the price that you pay, right? When you become a disciple, this is what it cost. Everyone isn't going to like you. They hated Jesus.

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And you know what Jesus told his disciples? He said, if the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. Of course, they're gonna be bothered by you. The Bible says he knew you before he formed you in your mother's womb. And so when you allow people to label you from a place of their own insecurity, what happens is it now hinders you from being able to possess all of what God has for you.

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What God has for you is for you, but you cannot go holding onto what he has said or what she has said about you. The people that God sends into your life, they're going to be people that are able to embrace all of who you are. And if they can't embrace all of who you are, then you have to learn how to get comfortable with letting them go. You have to get comfortable with a goodbye and a God bless you because I know who I am. And like Sarah Jake said once, I'm not going to shrink to make you feel comfortable.

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This is something that healing will do to you. When you start healing, you start transforming. Your metamorphosis season begins and as you enter into your cocoon and you wrestle with God and yourself and your past, you change. If you know me, you know I love butterflies. And I got curious as I was working on this episode and I was like, what really happens in the cocoon?

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Before a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, what goes down in that cocoon? Obviously, the caterpillar is transforming into a new creature, the butterfly, but that requires that the old caterpillar body be broken. Broken down and turned into something new. God loves to use broken things. Because if you were perfect, there'd be no room for his glory.

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He loves to use broken things. He loves to restore. He loves to heal. He loves to transform. And so you've got to learn how to move through that change.

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Go with it. Because it's meant for your good. So many of us are not moving forward because of our past. Our past is tormenting us. Stop letting it.

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You got to learn how to use your voice. You got to learn how to lift it up and speak to those things that are disrupting your life. Isaiah 43 verse 18 through 19. It says forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past.

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See, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up. Do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. You need to forget what was in order to embrace what is right in front of you.

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You can't perceive this new thing that God is doing in your life because you're too busy being worried about what was. Let it go. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? I don't think they can. So take a deep breath, get into a routine of bringing your burdens to the Lord, and ask God, Lord, what do I need to do so that I can heal?

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Because you have to choose healing. You've got to choose to live in your freedom. Our God is great and there's more out there for you. No more settling. I want to read one scripture and then I'll be done.

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This scripture is so powerful, it's the apostle Paul and he's talking about forgetting the past. It's Philippians three verses 12 through 14 and I'm reading it out of the message version because I love the way the message paints the picture And I resonate with this so deeply. This scripture has been so close to my heart in this recent season. I have to share it. Paul says, I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made, but I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ who has so wondrously reached out for me.

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Friends, don't get me wrong. By no means do I count myself as an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal where God is beckoning us onward to Jesus. I'm off and running and I'm not turning back. So let's keep focused on that goal. Those of us who want everything that God has for us.

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If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision. You'll see it yet. Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it. And so I read that to tell you to get clear on the goal. My message is the same if you have y'all haven't noticed.

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Like majority of these episodes, my message stays the same because it's the only message that God has given to me. And God's people, his children have got to get clear on that. If we're too consumed with our experiences and the things of our past, our trauma, circumstances that are happening on around us, then we're gonna miss being focused on the goal. The goal, the mission, the purpose, the calling that God has placed upon our life. You've got to let it go.

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You've got to get free. You've got to heal. And the only way you can do that is through Jesus. So settle down in him. Settle down in him.

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He's so powerful. He's got you in the palm of his hand. Cry it out. Book the therapy appointment. Ask your brother or your sister for forgiveness.

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Say yes to what God is calling you to do. Move forward in the name of Jesus. That's all I have for y'all today. Thank you so much, you guys, for tuning in to all of season one. I love you.

Speaker 1:

I appreciate you. And I can't wait for season two. Again, please send up a rating. Please leave a review. I would love to hear from you.

Speaker 1:

Bye, guys.