What If Rock Bottom Is Where Redemption Begins, with Alicia: Episode 378

A voice rises from the wreckage and refuses to whisper. Alicia joins us to share how a childhood ache of not belonging grew into a full-blown addiction, how manipulation blurred into trafficking, and how a life held together by fear finally surrendered to something stronger. Her account is unflinching—meth highs, crack smoke, homelessness, and a federal case—but what stands out is the pivot: a moment of terrifying clarity, a rehab bed, and a living room encounter with a love she’d only heard about in church.

We walk through the layered weight of healing: telling the truth about coercion, rebuilding trust with herself, and choosing sobriety one ordinary day at a time. Alicia opens up about starting a Bible study in jail, redirecting the energy of obsession into scripture and service, and learning that faith doesn’t promise easy, it promises better. She also takes us into her bariatric sleeve surgery—years in the making—and how reshaping her body supported a renewed mind and spirit. From there, we explore why she founded Faith Into Action Candle Company and how a simple flame can carry a testimony into homes where church doors may never open.

Not everyone championed her voice. A church leader told her to stop sharing. Alicia shares why she kept going, how Revelation 12:11 emboldens her, and why she believes testimony breaks shame. With sentencing ahead and custody pain still tender, she chooses peace over panic, purpose over paralysis, and a fierce declaration that Jesus loves you and can transform any story. If you’ve battled addiction, survived coercion, wrestled with church hurt, or are standing at a crossroads with no good options in sight, this conversation offers honest hope and a map for the narrow road.

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Have a lovely day and stay blessed

Transcript

Meet Alicia And Her Mission

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome back, listeners. I'm Robin Black, and this is It's All About Healing Podcast. We have a wonderful guest with us today, Miss Alicia. And we're just going to be speaking today about all kinds of different things and how God has gotten her through bariatric surgery as well, trafficking, and also drugs. So, Alicia, first introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about yourself.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Hey y'all, I'm Alicia from Tennessee, 33 years old. Basically, I've been through all kinds of stuff, and I just feel led to share with y'all about the goodness of God because my story is one of those stories where it's like, holy crap, like how sorry, I didn't mean to say holy crap, but like how is she how is she like sane? Like I've had a lot of people tell me, like, your story is crazy. A lot of people don't make it out. So I just wanted to share and share about God is not a respecter of person. So if he did it for me and there's somebody out there that's struggling, he can do it for them too.

Early Wounds And First Drugs

SPEAKER_01 0:57

So okay. So tell us a little bit about you said the the drugs. What what drugs were you on to begin with?

Meth, Manipulation, And Control

Trafficking Or Choice

Homelessness, Marriage, And Crack

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Everything it started with okay, so a little backstory on my addiction. So I was adopted at seven weeks old, always felt like I was unworthy, like I didn't belong. I was adopted. I I'm gonna have to say this because it makes sense of the unworthiness. I was adopted by um an all-white family, so I was raised in a family where you know nobody looked like me. So it was like kind of it was, I just didn't fit in. Um so as I grew up, like I never really touched drugs. And then when I was 14, my friend gave me some Adderall for the first time. I took almost all of them and I wondered why I couldn't sleep. And I found out later, you know, Adderall, it's it's an ADHD medicine, it can hop you up if you don't have a DHD, and then it mellows you out if you do. So a few years later, I met this guy, and he was a bank robber. I did not know that when I met him. He was a federal bank robber and he was on meth. And so I met him, we went out, we started hanging out, he started acting real weird, and I couldn't figure out why. So one day my car broke, I think my car broke down, and um I went to him and his friend's house, and his friend actually cooked meth. So I'm in there with him and we're doing what couples do. And then he, I was so I left because I didn't want to do any dope, and then I went back a couple days later and I was looking for Xanax because I was on Xanax back then. Yeah, um, long story short, like I freaked out on him, and I was like, Okay, you're gonna have to get me some pills. Like, I don't want to be sober. So he took me in the bathroom and he said, I'm gonna show you this, I'm gonna show you this once. And he showed me how to smoke mats off of foil. So I did that, and like instantly, like I was like, it was over with. Like I loved the feeling, I loved how I felt invincible, I felt worthy, I felt powerful. Like it is a it's a horrible drug, and I would tell anybody that it's demonic. I will, that is something that I stand on. It is a demonic drug, it is something that is come straight, it's just bad. Um, so after that, I ended up like like I would freak out, like he would get high and I would cry because I didn't want to do this. Because another part of my story is a little bit of backstory is I was raised in church. So I've always been, you know, I've always known that God existed. And so like I knew my dad had instilled in me, like, don't do drugs, it's horrible for you, it'll ruin your life. And so I would cry because I was like, dude, this is not where my life is supposed to go. Why, why do I want this so bad? But I know, sorry, I get loud sometimes, but why do I want this so bad? But I know that I'm not supposed to do this. So I would like I would cry and then we'd get high, and then I'd cry, and then we it was ridiculous. It was like a horrible cycle. So finally, me and him ended up breaking up. He cheated on me, he lied and said he got a girl pregnant, and he we broke up. So he ends up going back to prison because he violates parole. So he's in federal prison, and we I wrote him a letter. I started hanging out with his cousin, God arrest her, so she's passed away. But I started hanging out with her his cousin, and she told me to write him a letter one day in prison. So, me being me, I did. We were on pain pills, we were on meth, anything we could get a hold of, we were doing. Okay, so I wrote him a letter and I didn't think nothing of it. So one day I'm high and I didn't want to go outside. She's like, I'm gonna go check the mail. And she was like, Allie, because that's what people call me. I was like, What, girl? She's like, You got a letter from chat from him, and I was so excited. Uh, I opened the letter and I read it, and we started kind of like talking again after that. Well, at this point, I had gotten deep in my addiction, so I was doing math. I don't even remember how I started shooting. Yes, I do. I was doing math, I was smoking math. Well, then I met this woman that my mom, my real mom, used to be friends with. She was on pain pills. Well, you know, pain pills are not cheap, and this was 10 years ago. Like, this was actually it's probably longer than that when pain pills weren't very expensive. Or no, they were expensive. So we would so she prostituted, so like we would go to houses and I would be like, and I was very manipulative at this time, so I'd be like, Oh, you know, I have to do appeal before I can do this. Oh, I had to do a shop before I can do this. So she would hit me with a shot, and then I would go and sit in my car and not out. And this went on for a couple weeks, and finally, I don't know if this was her plan all along or if she caught on to my little game. But one day I went in there or I went to go pick her up, and I was like, Okay, we're gonna do appeal. And she was like, No, like we've got to go make money first. And I was like, Well, I've got to, you know, I need a pill before I can do this. And she was like, You're always saying I need a pill, I need a pill before you can do anything, and then you chicken out, you're not getting a pill until you do this. And so, of course, I'm dope sick, so I did what I needed to do. Um, and it ended up just being like that. Like, I would pick her up, we would go places, we would go to men's houses, and we like she would tell me, like, until you do this, you're not getting a pill. And then the bad part was is after it would happen when we would go to like get the pills, I wouldn't get all, I wouldn't get all of mine. Like it would we would split it up, but she would get more. So later on in my life, my attorney who I'm dealing with a federal case right now, my attorney brought it to my attention. He was like, That sounds more like trafficking than like you will willingly was prostituting. And so I still don't really talk, I don't really like to talk about it, but I'm saying it because if somebody is forcing you to do something, if they have gotten you hooked on drugs or they are withholding money or whatever from you and they're making you do something sexual for it, and you it's you don't want to, it no longer becomes a willing participant doing that to survive you or doing that because they're making you, and I don't I'll I'll stand on that. Like that is it's wrong. It's wrong, it's not how life is supposed to be. Nobody should force you to lay down with somebody if you don't want to. So, anyways, with my with my ex who was in prison, we like I talked to him a lot, but like he would always ask me for money. And girl, I was broke. Like, I mean, I'm literally having to sell myself for drugs, like I'm broke, but like I would I'd send him$15 here,$15 there. Um, that I remember one time his cousin was like, Girl, you would literally send him your last. We would be, we would have no food in the house, and he'd ask for$15. I would take like three dollars that I had to put in gas, and then I would drive to Western Union to send him money. And I'd like I just had$15. And mind you, excuse me, mind you, I was like I said, I was selling myself for this. So then it switched from her telling me to do it to where I realized like it just became a after like it switched from her basically like pimping me out to like me doing it myself, and my friend would do it instead where I didn't have to do anything because she knew how bad it bothered me. Well, I got to where every all kinds of stuff happened. I ended up homeless, and so I moved to Chattanooga, I moved to Tennessee, or anyways, I moved to where I was staying for a long time and I met my ex-husband. Um, and my ex-husband is actually the one who got me to stop doing what I was doing because he was like, if you're gonna be with me, like I don't want you sleeping with other men, that's weird. Like, no. So he was not who I thought he was. He was on he was on drugs too, but I didn't know how bad. I remember one of the first words he said to me was, You can do drugs, it's fine, but just don't make yourself ahead about it. And when he said that, he was like, Don't let the drugs control you. Come to find out, he was doing like hundred, two hundred, three hundred dollars worth of crack at a time. Like he was smoking a heck of a lot of crack when I was with him, and we were doing like a lot of like myth. And so he ended up, he was kicked out of his mama's house. So I my mom had sold her house. I'm kind of jumping all over the place, but like yeah, it's it's okay.

Inside The Spiral And The Scam

SPEAKER_01 9:07

I just just hold on, just real quick, because I know I'm trying to I'm trying to keep up. So what I want to know is in the midst of all this, like what what's going on mentally? So is it just the craving of the drug that's where it's like you kind of disassociate yourself with the world and what it is that you're doing because you want that drug that badly, or how did you kind of navigate through life during this time?

SPEAKER_00 9:36

Well, like with the the prostitution or whatever you want to call it, like I was not okay. I wasn't okay. I remember the first time I did it, and I came home to my my ex-boyfriend's cousin, and I just laid on my I just sat on my couch and cried. And she like held me and she just let me cry because I couldn't believe I had done that. I couldn't believe I had I had given I had given into that to get high. I was not okay. I felt disgusting, I felt horrible, I like it was awful. But the thing of it is is when you when you sell yourself like that, or when somebody sells you like that, you lose a piece of who you are. Like you you go from being this whole person because they say fornication, you know, when you fornicate, like it's it's a sin, let's call it what it is. So, like not only are you being forced to sleep and fornicate, whatever you want to call it, with somebody, sexual immorality, but you're also actively like giving, like you're you're selling a part of yourself, and every time you do that, it fragments your soul. And like, so every time I laid down with somebody for money, a piece of my soul would leave. I truly believe that. Like, I don't know if that makes sense, but it was like a part of me would die until I was just like the shell of a human being who, as long as I could get high, I didn't care what happened. I'd like I remember I tried to steal from my dad one time. I've I've part of the reason why I got in trouble is because like I had started drinking again a little bit and I started a real estate scam and ended up stealing. Like they say I took$1.9 million dollars worth of properties. I'm not really gonna get into that because it's still ongoing. But long story short, like addiction, I wasn't okay mentally. Like, I was not okay. It was it was really dark, it was really hard. I was depressed, and when you're on mass, you're paranoid. So like I was not only depressed, I was also paranoid. And that's where the enemy started planting like seeds in my mind, where it was just a very dark journey for a very long time.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

And how how long ago was this, Alicia?

Relapse, Jail, And A Wake-Up Dream

SPEAKER_00 11:51

The first time I started I started using drugs when I was okay, so 14 with the Adderall, but then really started using at 21. And then I actually ended up, I did, I got so I would be sober for a year, then I relapsed, and I got sober for three years after I had my daughter, and um I ended up relapsing jail of June June October 2024. And so I ended up going, I got sober, relapsed in jail, got sober in jail, got out of jail the day after my ex-husband's birthday, and a week later I relapsed. And this is really where God showed up in my story. I remember like so I had a dream of like what my life was gonna be like if I didn't get sober, and it was basically just complete spiritual darkness, which terrified me to the point where I went to rehab. So I went to rehab June 2025, and I've been sober ever since. I'll actually get my nine-month ship tomorrow.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

Yeah, congratulations. And if you don't mind my asking, how old are you now? How old am I?

SPEAKER_00 12:55

Yeah, I'll be I'll just let me form words. I'm 33. You're 33. I'll be 34 in October.

SPEAKER_01 13:02

Oh, nice. I'm October also. Oh my goodness. So wow, that that's a lot, Alicia.

SPEAKER_02 13:11

That's just a piece of it.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

And that it takes a lot of strength to even be able to come on and tell your story, and it and it's an honor to hear that and and know that you're a survivor, you know. That that's that's huge. And now that you've kind of processed some of the things, how are you doing with that mentally? Like, how do you get through with do you still have drug cravings or what's going on now?

Delivered And Rebuilding Faith

SPEAKER_00 13:38

So I don't really have any drug cravings anymore. I truly believe that like the Lord has delivered me from drug addiction 100%. It started when I left my ex-husband when I realized getting out of rehab that he hadn't changed and he didn't want to change. Um, and us being together was toxic for us. So after that, I just truly started seeking Jesus. Like I was looking, like I used to search for dope. So, like all day, every day. So I took that energy I put into searching for drugs and started trying to know everything I could about the Lord Jesus Christ. Like I needed to know everything about him. And I will never forget when I finally felt his love for the first time. I hit my knees and I asked him why my ex-husband didn't love me, why he would do this to me. And literally, that whole living room filled with the love that I've never felt in my life. It was like he was standing right there beside me, and he was like, I'm here, I've always been here, but I needed you to get to the end of yourself and to the foot of the cross for you to find me. And I'm down to him in that moment. Like, I mean, he changed my life and he delivered me from drug addiction. Like he's delivered me from drug addiction, from shame, from abandonment. I mean, he's just completely changed my life. I'm gonna kind of pivot for a second, but like, and this is not to sell anything, this is just something that I'm taking and channeling my, not channeling, but like I'm putting my energy in. So, like recently he started me where I'm making candles, and like it's called forgiven because in Jesus Christ, it's called the Freedom and the Freedom in Christ candle collection. And my company is called Faith into Action Candle Company, because we are like when we give our lives to Jesus and we're born again, we are forgiven, we're redeemed, we're restored, we're renewed, all the things. And I I loved making candles back in the day, and he had told me to start doing this, and I I went worldly with it. And so this is my way, now that he has redeemed me, restored me, renewed me, to like share his love and his goodness and just literally my tagline is spreading the good news of Jesus Christ one candle at a time because I feel like I have to share with other people anyway, any way I can, whether it's a podcast, whether it's a candle, whether it's sharing a testimony at a recovery meeting, I just need to share the good news of Jesus because if he can deliver me, he can deliver anybody who is struggling with drug addiction. So absolutely.

Purpose Through Candles And Testimony

SPEAKER_01 16:03

I I agree, I agree with that. And sometimes, you know, a lot of people they ask, you know, why do some of us have to suffer? And it's like we suffer for others as well, because your testimony is what's gonna help save someone else's life, you know, and it's it's you never know who it's gonna reach. At the end of the day, God knows that this needs to happen because how many times have you and I tried to keep coming together with this podcast so many times? So it's like it needed to happen, and you know, and sometimes they that pool is there because the enemy doesn't want it to happen, right? So it's it's it's about getting it out there and sharing with sharing the word of God and how God helps deliver us from these worldly things, even though it's a very hard life, but you definitely have have the Lord in you because you are exuding so much strength, Alicia. Like that that is phenomenal, and I'm proud of you. You know, if no one has ever heard you or you haven't heard anyone say that, know that I am.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

Thank you. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

No problem. And then you said also that you recently had bariatric surgery. Congratulations! Thank you. Tell us a little bit about that. Which one did you have?

SPEAKER_00 17:15

I have the gastric sleeve. This has been a journey I was trying to do since I was 18 years old. Like I said, I'm 33. I kept having obstacles. So the first time I tried to do it, I was 18. And long story short, my dad I needed$1,500. My dad wouldn't pay it because his ex his ex-wife, his wife had it and almost died. So I went back when I was 26 to try to have bariatric surgery, found that I was pregnant, so couldn't do it then.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Yeah.

Bariatric Surgery Journey

SPEAKER_00 17:47

Well, during the pregnancy, I gained I got sober and I gained 90 pounds. So after having my daughter, I looked into it again, but it just wasn't the right time. I just it was it was just too much to try and have the surgery and have a newborn. Um, so also I think my ex-husband like low-key sabotaged me because he he likes bigger women and he never like wanted me to have it. So finally, in the spring of March 2025, I went to see a surgeon and I spoke to her and I told her my whole story. I told her, like, you know, I really want to have bariatric surgery, I want to have the Dionyl switch, but I'm currently facing I could potentially face a prison sentence, and I don't know how that's gonna work. So we tried to do it where I did it on my own, and then like June, no, like October-ish of 2025, I told her I was ready to like actually think about the surgery, and so we worked out a plan where I would have the gastric sleeve first and see how much I lose, and then if I needed to do the Dionno switch, she would go back in and do a second part. So Diano switch, I've never heard it was like the gastric bypass and the sleeve mixed together, like it's like a two, it's I don't even know how to explain it. It's for uh it's it's just a little different, it's a lot more protein, it's a lot more vitamins, but yeah, it's like the gastric sleeve and the gastric bypass together. Um and then in December or December 31st, because I always say that like I'll panic and like the Lord will just wait until like the last, like not the last minute, but with me, like he just kind of waits and like tries to get me to trust him and to you know sit still and be still because I don't sit still. And so on I was like, I need to have this surgery, y'all, because I don't know if my insurance is gonna run out. And so on December 31st, 2025, I had gastric sleeve surgery and January 1st. Not only am I a new creation in Christ, I am now going to have a new, like you know, healthier me to you know, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

That is just so funny. Congratulations because mine was December 30th of 2024. Oh wow, so that is so amazing. I love that for you, and everything you said with your case is still going on, it's still ongoing right now.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

Yeah, I'm actually we were supposed to do sentencing on the so funny thing, the surgery actually, like I had surgery, they wanted to sentence me in January of this year, yeah, but because I had surgery, they couldn't, so they put it off until March, till March of this year, two days after my daughter's sixth birthday is I'm supposed to be sentenced, but I'm currently waiting on them to reschedule it because some personal issues came up that I can't get there, so yeah, yeah, it's ongoing, but it's coming to an end. Yeah, it's coming to an end. I just don't know what that ending's gonna be.

Sentencing, Custody, And Surrender

SPEAKER_01 20:43

Yeah, and so that that's just so much to swallow. So I I can just only imagine what's going on in your mind every day, and you know, as a mom and this surgery you just had, and you're you don't even know what's about to happen, but you know that God has you, right? And that's the good part, and that's how you get up every day knowing that God, I know you're with me. Yep, and what so when is your your next date for your case?

Jailhouse Faith And Bible Study

Speaking Despite Church Pushback

SPEAKER_00 21:19

Um, I'm waiting to hear back from my attorney. He's trying to get it rescheduled, but like what's so crazy in all of this is that I have not I don't have custody of my daughter right now, and that's another piece that God's working out, but like I have not wanted to talk about my case or my kid. And then my sponsor, I was on the phone with her one day, and like the floodgates just opened, and I just started crying, and I just started crying, like I had to go through my daughter's stuff. My daughter has not been with me since 2024. Um, and in 2026, February 2026, I finally went through her toys and started getting rid of some of the stuff she would play with anymore because. I didn't want to get rid of it because I felt like if I got rid of it, then I knew it was real, but like I didn't know how to handle the fact like she's really not like this house that we lived in together, she's not gonna come back to it anytime soon. And so that plus the federal case, it was just like this, I hate to say it, but it was like this crippling, like anxiety doubt, I guess you could say, like it was like this doubt that like, okay, you've got me through everything else, Lord, but can you really get me through this? Can you really show up for me? And when I just broke to my sponsor, like I broke and I cried, and like I just opened up, and all of a sudden, like I have such peace. Like when I got my sentencing email, like I literally told my because I was in a step study. I was sorry, my nose was legit. I was in a step study, and before like we just we just finished it, and I was like, if I have to go to prison, like I don't want to, but here I am where it sends me because there's somebody in there that you will use me to reach. And so if I have to go just so one person can be brought into the kingdom of God, okay, let's do this because you're gonna walk with me. Like this tattoo I have right here. You can't really say it, but it's like it's the line of Judah, and then it's a warrior. I can't say it looks way bad, you can't say it, but like right here, it's a warrior. Um, I don't know if you could say that at all, but um, anyways, and it means that he walks beside me, he goes before me, he walks beside me, and he stands behind me, and I will only bow to him because when the Lord delivered me from addiction, he has put a fire in me for the homeless, the addicts, and the captives because they need to be delivered just like I was, yeah, and so I will go into like I don't want to go to prison, I do not want to go, but like because I have a daughter to worry about, yeah, but I will go if that like I will go and serve my time because I know I did my crime, but also like if I can reach one woman in there for God, like honestly, it would it'll be worth it to have to sit to have to be in there. Like, I know that sounds crazy, but that's where my mind is. Like, I'm not gonna look at this as a burden, a problem. Oh, poor pitiful me. I'm gonna look at it like, okay, Lord, you're gonna be in there with me, so I'm gonna be fine. And if I can bring hope into a place that is hopeless, like let's do it. Because when I was in jail for the six months of 2024, I started we started a Bible study. Like I started seeking like it took me a while, but I remember I went to court and I thought I was going home and I didn't go home. And I've been trying to seek the Lord, I've been lit like reading the Bible, trying to get you know, just trying to seek him. I was I was doing the whole Delhouse religion thing. I was okay, I'm gonna seek you, and when you let me out, I promise I'll live my life for you, whatever. Well, he knew I was fine because he knows our heart, right? Well, when I came back in to my cell, I remember going to set the Bible down. I was like, I guess you really don't care about me, whatever. And I promise you, Holy Spirit said to me, try me, really try me this time. And I sat on my bunk and I opened that Bible, and it was like the Lord opened my eyes to who he was, he started working on me right then and there. I realized that the God that I had grew up thinking, like knowing the one that goes fire and brimstone is how I was raised. Like, if you breathe wrong, he's angry at you. That's not him, right? He is patient, he is kind, he is loving, and he will wait until the right moment and the right time when you come to the like I said, when you come to the end of yourself, you come to the foot of the cross, then he can intervene and he will radically transform you. And that's what he did for me, even though I realized when I got back out, those seeds that he had when I had been like like you know, being planted, like I I would see, I'd get high, and then I would like sit there and try to Google things about God because I wanted to know about him. Like he he just radically changed my life, and so if he did that for me and he's helped like he used me to start a Bible study in there last time, like I know that he'll do it again, and I know that he'll he'll use me in ways that like will reach people, and that's all I want. I just want to live my life and glorify him. That's what I want to do in prison, outside of prison, wherever. Like, I just want to glorify God.

SPEAKER_01 26:33

Yes, that's oh my goodness, I love hearing that. That is so good. I'm glad that you can stay positive and be positive and things like that because these women are gonna need you, you know. You never even you might even help one of the guards today. You just you never know whose life you're going to touch, and that's what makes it so beautiful with these testimonies and and the impact that it has because we don't ever think about the impact of things. We just sometimes we worry about self, right? We just worry, how's this affecting me? What am I gonna do? How am I gonna get through this? But you don't realize what God is using you for as that vessel. You wear his vessel that he's using us for, and that's that's what I think is just so powerful. And how God is using you is just it's out of this world, it is it is beyond me, and it is such a blessing that you are here to share your your your story.

Hard Roads, Better Life With God

SPEAKER_00 27:31

I appreciate that. Well, you know, Revelations 12, 11 talks about we defeated him by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. So, like, it's super important to share what you've been through and how he's brought you out of it because that's how we that's basically how we keep like we keep the enemy at bay. I don't really know if that sounds right, but like we can't keeping what happened to us and how God's delivered us or freed us or whatever you want to call it, healed us, like that can't be kept to ourselves because how can people know the goodness of God if we keep it to ourselves? I had somebody tell me a couple weeks ago, somebody that's like I looked at as like a just a spiritual leader. I won't really get into like how much, anyways. But I told her I was gonna be on a podcast and she was like, You don't need to be ministering to anybody right now, you don't need to be sharing your testimony, you don't even need to be ministering on Facebook, and that broke my heart because I was like, dang, I came to you to tell you something that like the Lord has blessed me with this opportunity and you shut me down. And like I shared my testimony, I sure did. I went on a podcast and I shared my testimony, and I just posted it on Facebook because I feel and I'm gonna share this one because I I want people to hear it because that's how God can reach somebody. Like, not everybody goes to church, like not everybody walks into a church building, and so if he can use these podcasts, like if he can use your podcast or he can use my testimony or whatever, like to reach somebody who otherwise would never hear about his goodness, then that's what I'm gonna let him do with do through me. And it really like surprised me that there are people out here that are in the church who will try to discourage somebody from talking about the goodness of God, and her excuse was you could accidentally hurt somebody's feelings. How am I how am I gonna hurt somebody's feelings? What did I okay? How am I gonna hurt somebody's feelings by talking about how good God is? Like, if that hurts your feelings, that's because that might be because like you don't really understand it. I mean, it hurt my feelings back in the day when people would talk to me about the Bible. I didn't understand the Bible. So, what was hurting my feelings was all the church hurt that I had in my life, how the people had hurt me. God is not people, God is God. So, how people in the church have treated you is not how God will treat you, and I can promise you that. Yeah, because he's not us, he's God, his ways are not our ways, his thoughts are not our thoughts. He is he is so much more gentle than people. And I just need to say this if somebody's listened to this and you've been hurt by the church, I'm sorry, but give Jesus a chance because he is not like that, he will love you through all of your sin, your mess, your hurt. He will love you through it all because that's who he is, he's love.

Closing Blessing And Prayer

SPEAKER_01 30:11

So yeah, and then everyone's given an assignment, right? You have an assignment from God and you have the assignment from from the devil. And I'm not saying because everybody, you don't know who's being used by who, right? But for her to be in the church and to say something like that, that could have been her assignment from the enemy, the enemy could have been using her at that moment, right? So it doesn't mean that it's her that's bad, it's just whatever was over her was bad. But there's a lot of false prophecy. There's there's so many ministers and and pastors and things that can lead you down the wrong road that's not meant for you as well. And then, especially when they want to preach saying that you have a missed opportunity, right? I don't believe in missed opportunities, right? Things can be delayed, but whatever God has for you, God has for you. And he's very well calculated. So no one can sit here and tell you anything because God has already calculated that along your path. So it doesn't matter what you do, what you're going to do, God's already calculated it because he is our beginning and our end. So it doesn't really matter what somebody else has to say. What it matters is what's on your heart, what God put on your heart to share, to do, whatever the case may be. You move forward with God and you let God lead that. That's all that matters.

SPEAKER_00 31:26

Yeah, so true. Yeah, so true.

SPEAKER_01 31:29

But yeah, so oh my goodness, that just that just gave me chills when you said that she said that. So it was just like, no, I I don't like that at all. But that's that's the enemy's job, that's their assignment. So everybody's given that assignment sometimes. But what is what is one thing that you definitely want to add for the listeners?

SPEAKER_00 31:51

Um any type of Jesus loves you, yes. That's what I want people to know. Like, I I mean, he loves you more than you will ever understand this thought of heaven. And I I tell people that on the I'll be at a gas station. I actually I went to a Sunday school for single women today, and I had to, I was like, I gotta leave early because I'm gonna be on a podcast. And I was telling them about your podcast. And the lady, I said, bye, have a good day. And I said, if nobody tells you today Jesus loves you, she said, Can you say it again? And so I walked up to her and I said, If nobody tells you today Jesus loves you, and she said, Thank you. I say that to people because they need to know it. Like, I know it sounds just so like simple, but like Jesus loved us enough to die for our sins. Yes, he loved us enough to die for our sins. I don't know anybody on this earth that would die for me, but Jesus died for me and he died for every single listener of this podcast. Absolutely. And that's what I want them to know. He loves you, and he will radically transform your life if you let him. If you are willing to surrender, he will radically transform your life. And it's another thing that he's showing me, like he's he's helping me understand. I don't remember the verse, I don't remember exactly where it is. I think it's Matthew 7, but in my in Matthew 7, he never said that this is easy, and a lot of times, as believers, we like for new believers, they think, okay, I'm gonna give my life to Jesus and everything's gonna be wonderful. He said the road is narrow and the way is difficult. He never said it will be easy. What we what I missed for so long, easy and better are not the same. No, my life is not easy. I live in a hotel right now, I'll be honest with you. I lost my apartment and I live in a hotel. Um, sometimes I'm panicking about how am I gonna pay for this, but he always provides. That's hard. It's hard being away from my daughter, it's hard going through a federal federal investigation. But guess what? It's better because I have him. I know where my comfort comes from, I know where my strength comes from. I know that when nobody else on this world care in this world cares about me, I can go and I can sit and I can pray and I can talk to Jesus and I can just rest in the presence of God. Yeah, and my life gets better because the word, like the Bible says, his word doesn't come back void. So when things get hard, you get in the word, and you're you can't you can't get it, you can't get in the word of God and stay the same. It's literally not possible. Like you can't. If you truly seek him, he will radically transform you, he will radically change you, and so it just needs people to understand it's not gonna be easy, but it's gonna be so much better than if you did this life by yourself. Because Jesus is everything, He will be He will always be there for you, He will never leave you nor forsake you. Like, that's an amazing promise. Like, I'm I'm adopted, my parents abandoned me, but Jesus ain't gonna abandon me. Like, he's always gonna be here, he's always gonna be here for me, and that is such an amazing thing. So, yeah, it's not gonna be easy, but it's gonna be so much better if you just surrender to him. It's amazing, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:59

And I love it because uh is it's it's far from easy. It it is definitely this walk is not easy, but it's like you said, it's about staying in his word, right? That's the only way to stay in his will is to is by staying in his word, but it's also that's the the power of prayer, right? It's for our struggles because we can't do it by ourselves, and that's a lot of the times the things that we do, the mistakes that we make in the when we keep constantly going back, making the same mistake, it's like we feel like God, I know you're probably not gonna forgive me for this, but he does. It's and that's where it's like it his love can feel so undeserving because it never stops. And it's just like, how does God keep putting this in me to keep coming to him? You know, to just literally lay it all down at his feet, and that's what it's about is to go to God when you don't have anyone else, no matter what it is, lay it all down because he already knows anyway, so just lay it all down, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:05

Yeah, that's that's something that took me a long time to understand. I would do something and I would be like, I can hide this from my parents and my friends, so I can hide this from God. No, you can't. I couldn't hide a single thing from him. He knew everything that I did, and when I finally grasped that, that's what made me want to run to him because he already knows, and he's the one who has my computer's bottom. Hold on, sorry. He's the one who has the a plan, like he has a plan for me. He can he's the only one who can fix my situation, he's the only one who can do anything because I don't have the power, and nobody that I know has the power. Like, there's a verse that I love in Psalm, and it says, It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people, and that is so true because people are flawed and they will let us down, but God will never let us down, and that's an amazing truth. I have got to get my computer charger real quick. Is that okay? Go ahead, go ahead. One second. Okay, I'll be right back. Okay, I'm so sorry about that.

SPEAKER_01 37:28

Oh no, you're fine. Let me get you ready to put it back on. Are you good for me to hit top play again? Okay. It didn't. There we go. Okay. I had to make sure it got okay, sorry about that, guys. Okay. I don't remember what we were just saying. Um, I do apologize, but but we're talking about the people for flood, I think.

SPEAKER_00 37:52

I don't know. I don't know either.

SPEAKER_01 37:53

But I will say, um I will say that I do wish you the very best in everything that's going on with you, and I am very glad that you have God in your life carrying you through all of these challenging moments that you're about to endure. Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 38:12

I couldn't do it without him.

SPEAKER_01 38:14

I know, but again, what is the name of your candle, your candle business again?

SPEAKER_00 38:20

It is called Faith into Action Candle Company. Okay, yeah, I'm still working on everything like a website and all kinds of stuff, but okay, candles.

SPEAKER_01 38:33

Okay, yeah, candles. All right, and then I'll add that in the show notes as well. Okay, and is there anything else that you wanted me to add before before we go?

SPEAKER_02 38:44

No, I don't think so.

SPEAKER_01 38:45

Just okay. Well, thank you again so much for your time. And again, I'm Robin Black. This is It's All About Healing Podcast. And again, we had Alicia and everyone stay blessed.

SPEAKER_00 38:57

Oh, can I pray real quick? I'm sorry. Oh, yeah, go ahead. By all means. Okay, all right, dear Heavenly Father, Lord, I thank you for this opportunity. Just talk to Robin on her podcast. It's all about healing, Lord. I pray that you will just bless every single person listening to this, Lord. Let them know that they are loved and that you are there for them in times of trouble, Lord God, that you are their help, Lord God. Let them seek refuge in you, Lord God, and know that you give them strength through the hard times, Lord. And Lord, I just want to thank you for Robin, Lord God. I thank you for this podcast that she is doing, and I pray that you will bless her abundantly beyond her wildish dreams, Lord God. And Lord, I give you all the honor, honor, the glory, and the praise for what you've brought me out of and what you continue to bring me through, Lord. I praise your name. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 39:41

Amen. Thank you so much, Alicia. That was very, very sweet. Thank you so, so much. And again, guys, thank you. I'm Robin Black. This is It's All About Healing Podcast. Stay blessed.