Coffee Talk With The Cajun Mamas
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Coffee Talk With The Cajun Mamas
Coffee Talk With The Cajun Mamas: What it Means to Surrender to God
Today we discuss how the pathway to freedom comes through surrendering to God, as well as the peace granted to us through our faith.
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Sara
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Koa
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All right, welcome to Coffee Talk with the Cajun Mamas. Welcome back, everybody, we have a very interesting episode for y'all today, and it is surrendering to God.
Speaker 2:And what does that mean, what does that look like and we're going to talk about maybe some times that we surrendered.
Speaker 1:This is a good one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like um, you know that those like the holy spirit tingles kind of that you get like mine it feels like a little bit of nerves.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a little bit of nerves. I'm, my breath is like full but a little not catching. We feel some type of way, but it's gonna be a great.
Speaker 2:We know that those are usually. This is usually the best episodes.
Speaker 2:Yes, like the holy spirit will move so anyways let's, uh, start out by mentoring, mentoring, mentioning our grand sponsor, behold, catholic ministries. Miss melissa van song. This is her, this is her passion, this is her calling her ministry. Um, at a time that she was at her lowest in her life, she had a very special encounter with our Lord, with Jesus, and he brought her out of the pit, so to speak, and told her he wanted her to have a deep devotion and relationship with him and with his mother Mary. So she started this ministry and they hold Mother's Day retreats for women.
Speaker 2:They usually they usually always sell out like there's around 50 spots and it's probably filled for this year already, but it's an ongoing thing. But it is an ongoing thing and I bet you it's going to continue to grow too, and hopefully they will have more retreats.
Speaker 2:But it's more than just the retreat. This whole ministry is a great place for you to connect with other believers and other women, specifically, um, to foster that um relationship with jesus through our mother mary, and you know, behold, encourages women to pray, to live boldly for the lord. Um, they do, uh, sharing and praising. They, you know, know, help grow as a believer, as a community of sisterhood believers.
Speaker 1:Just all the good things you need in your life to survive, you need your sisters, you need your soul sisters right, yes, and what a good place to meet some new friends and just be a part of something bigger you know for yourself, for your family and for your community. Behold Catholic Ministries. Give them a look on Facebook, instagram and you can also email them beholdcatholicministries at gmailcom. Thank you, ms Melissa. And Behold Catholic Ministries.
Speaker 2:Yes, and thank you for our beautiful shirts too, oh isn't she beautiful?
Speaker 1:She's beautiful, isn't she?
Speaker 2:lovely To Jesus, through Mary, I love that.
Speaker 1:That's what they say yes. All right. So, yes, Okay. So let's just kind of talk a little bit about and you may have heard us say this before, but every time we have a faith-filled podcast episode.
Speaker 2:The devil being is the devil be wilding out, trying to stop us, trying to discourage us, trying to just throw them, throwing them fiery darts at us, or sometimes not even us, sometimes people around us and just a distraction right where it hurts okay, it's all, so this could be a really good friend, it could be a family member, it could be someone close to us and the enemy is on their back. Most of the time it's us. Yeah, but this specific episode, this specific time, yeah, today was.
Speaker 1:It was on some people around us that knew was really going to catch our heart. People close to us, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, um, what, uh? What does it mean to you? What does it mean to surrender to God?
Speaker 1:Well, at its simplest form, which is not simple at all. It's not simple.
Speaker 2:It's so hard to do and and and you have to make that choice almost daily. Oh yeah, by the minute, Situational daily, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah To say. You know what? I don't have this, but God does.
Speaker 2:Okay, it's about it's control. You know it's really at its simplest is letting go of control, Letting go of what you can control, because you know we can't control everything in life, but what we can, we like to do, oh, we gonna try, we gonna do it. Um, let learning to let go of control to whatever god has in mind and you, most of the time, don't even don't know what that is.
Speaker 1:No, and that's so hard as a mama. Okay, that's so hard as a mama because you plan your meals, you plan, plan. You know when the laundry is going to get done.
Speaker 2:You have a schedule, you have your calendar out, like.
Speaker 1:You know what, when, where, how, who, but let one of your kids get sick and throw a wrench in that, Throw it all away. You know everything that you have just built up for the last week or month or year. Sometimes.
Speaker 2:Do you get rattled? Do you get rattled easily, or a year sometimes? Do you get rattled? Do you get rattled easily? And I'm speaking to myself too, but, like sometimes there's nothing you can do but just throw your hands in the air and be like okay, nothing's working out the way I thought or wanted it to work out, so you must have a better plan.
Speaker 1:Yeah, here you go, here you go.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and sometimes you do it resentfully, just like that, oh yes. Sometimes it's like on your knees, crying like please help me, lord. Sometimes it's like well, all right then.
Speaker 1:I have. I have stood probably with barely any clothes on before to go somewhere and I just remember I was pregnant and I was like here I am, lord, I come to do your will. You know, I come to do your will, just whatever it is that you want me to do, because I was so frustrated. I don't even remember what it was for, you know, but I was just so frustrated because I and the feeling, and it was like I felt so proud of myself that I first thought about Jesus.
Speaker 1:And doing that. I just want to do what you want me to do.
Speaker 2:And it's okay if you are a little frustrated, Like he knows, but you pray those gritted teeth prayers anyway.
Speaker 1:And listen. He put you in some situations. Now, yeah, but let's table this.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Let's table it. We're tabling it. And let's talk about something that we can kind of try to take control of.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, and that's our health.
Speaker 1:Sound prevention screenings is a great way to. They specialize in early detection ultrasound screenings and this came at the perfect time, um for for us and um I I needed to go and get a screening done and just so happened, she popped up in our inbox wanting for wanted to offer us an early uh screening.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I said you know, yeah, I really need this right now. Like I was about to make the appointment and God put this in my lap and I was so glad that, uh, that he did because Ms Dionne Benoit was such a pleasure to be around.
Speaker 2:She really was. She was so thorough in her exam, in her screenings, was explaining everything to us, what she was looking at, what she was looking for. Um, just a great experience overall. Looking far, just a great experience overall and you know if you had any questions, very knowledgeable. Her screenings also do get reviewed by a doctor too, and you get a whole health report come back to you, which I thought was great. But ultrasounds can catch things that other types of screenings can't like mammograms, and some people don't want to go through the mammogram.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know they. They don't want to do a mammogram because of uh, what is? Is that like radiation?
Speaker 2:yeah, you know yeah, yeah, true.
Speaker 2:So ultrasound is just a different way that there's, there's, yeah, and she's been able to catch lots of different types of cancers early and have much more health treatment options is what I want to say whenever you catch it early, so take your health into your own hands. You know we spend all this money to look good on the outside. Invest some money into peace of mind for your insides okay. Yes, you can contact them at soundprevention at gmailcom or visit their website at wwwsound-preventioncom. Thank you, Ms Dionne Benoit, for being a sponsor.
Speaker 1:Yes, all right, so we tabled something.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, and I don't recall what the table talk was about. What was the table talk about? Let's see, you know, I feel like at the heart of it, and this is the hard part, okay, recognizing that God's will is greater than yours, and you know just you want to do, you want and we do, but he has a bigger plan, you know he just does.
Speaker 2:And at what point do you say, okay, I've tried it my way. And sometimes we feel like we're on a hamster wheel going round and around and you know, I've tried all I know. And sometimes we get to that point we're like I've tried everything, I tried all I know to do. Now, to that point we're like we, I've tried everything, I tried all I know to do. Now I'm giving it up to you. What if we'd have done that sooner? Oh man, we could have saved so much mizad for ourselves.
Speaker 1:Absolutely because it took me way too long to get to that point. I know it took me way too long, you know but he's merciful and no matter what time you get to that point. At least you got to that point, and and honestly, I think I'm there, but you know, some days, you know, I don't want to say, oh, I really made it to this top.
Speaker 2:I live a totally surrendered life?
Speaker 1:Yes, because it's not true. But the point that I surrendered my life to God and y'all already know I'm a cradle Catholic, I've been in the faith, I know what I'm supposed to be doing and I know you know but living a life where you go to church and you do these things until you really make the decision to live your life for the Lord, yeah, I just kind of look at the other parts of my life as a blur up until now, where I live a more freed life through Jesus. I like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, I gave it all up to him because I just was like I was trying to control everything myself, you see, and I'm glad you said free life, because I feel like part of the fear of surrendering is thinking well, I'm going to have to be a certain way, I'm going to have to act a certain way God's going to ask me to do but and that's control, like I don't want to be controlled, you know. But it's opposite when you do, you feel free.
Speaker 1:And you can see very clearly what the next step is. Don't you feel that way?
Speaker 2:I feel like sometimes I can and sometimes I don't, but I think that's on purpose, because if we could see it all, we wouldn't need to hold his hand, we wouldn't need to depend on him.
Speaker 1:He's so right, you know.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's so right, but sometimes he lets us Like just a little bit where you're, like you know you're on the right track. Yes A.
Speaker 1:God wink. Yes, you know.
Speaker 2:Absolutely a God wink when we know we're on the right track here. But like I don't, and not depend on him, right Y'all.
Speaker 1:It's such a journey, you know, and you never know where it's going to take you, but that is the journey that I live now, before, and I'm just going to kind of gloss this. Yeah, you know, but for a long time I just lived under the thumb. I feel like I was just like it has to be the certain way. I was in charge of everything. I was in charge of, you know, my fertility, in charge of this, in charge of that, and like it was just like. That's a whole different ballgame in itself, but it's like I live a more free life in Jesus by just surrendering, okay, cause clearly I have four kids. I thought I was just going to have to. God had a bigger plan for me. Um, that's not for everybody. I'm just letting you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's, this is my story. This is a good example of where you surrendered. This is when I surrendered, yeah.
Speaker 1:Was between those two. I call them my two sets because I had two kids and then eight years and then two more kids recently.
Speaker 1:And in the middle I was in charge of my life and that road was a very ugly road because on the outside I looked like a gorgeous human being, thin, I looked like I had it all together. That's just how I'm looking at myself now, because I'll send pictures of myself back then to COA and this was just a couple of years ago and she's like, um, but, but that's not what you look like on the inside, and I find that to be, I find that to be a testament to our friendship, because you can tell me stuff like that, Um, but it's so true.
Speaker 1:Uh outside, um, but it's so true, uh, outside, the great inside was very torn up human being until everything changed when I got pregnant for roz and I had to give it up. I was no longer in control and um, and and god was like this is what you are going to do it was like he had taken me and he just like kicked me up and smacked me. Yeah, I was like okay, yeah, well, I guess this is what I'm doing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's what you want you know, I have no other choice and you have that, that you, this realization of like all right, I'm done, you know, like I have nothing left but to give you myself and that's all he wants. That's all he wants. Yeah, so long story short, that was me yes, yes, what a time what a time to be alive and I'm just glad I made it through yes, I am very glad too all right, let's talk about parish rice after all of that yeah, okay, that was heavy.
Speaker 1:Yes, all right, but you need to get slapped in the face with some parish rice, because they have 53% more protein, a low glycemic index and it's Louisiana grown. Yeah, let me just tell y'all, we met the owners of parish rice by chance, by chance.
Speaker 2:yes, and. I wanted to just hug them so much because I'm like, oh my God, y'all are parish rice, that's all we eat, it's so good, it's better for you, and they were just great people they were great people, and there is nothing that I love more than to support great people yeah, great families, great people, you know.
Speaker 2:so parish rice is perfect for anyone trying to eat healthier while still enjoying your current lifestyle. If you have health concerns like diabetes or other health issues, maybe you're an athlete in training and you want that extra protein, look into this rice. Y'all Go to parishricecom. You can see all the statistics on it. More importantly, you can get you some there too. Get you some If you're not around here. You know it's in a lot of grocery stores around here, but if you don't have access, like we do, you can order it shipped right to your front door.
Speaker 1:I went to the grocery store the other day and I said, you know, I was one of those that we was in the grocery store and I told the kid go, go, get me some parish rice. Look, a lady looked at me. She's like nope, there's none. Oh, they out, they out. Right now I was like oh man, they're not getting no rice either. Dang, nope, we're skipping the rice.
Speaker 2:We're going to go somewhere else. We're going to go somewhere else.
Speaker 1:So I promise you it's not a bad choice. It's not a bad choice, all right so let's move on.
Speaker 2:So what we talked about like what does that look like every day? It could mean it's very situational. You know you choose day to day, moment to moment, to surrender your will to the Lord because it's always better, no matter what, Even if he calls you to walk through some hard things, at the end of the day it's a better plan for your life than what you would have tried to do on your own. So some of the things that this might look like in the everyday life. Let's talk about that Starting the day with prayer. Starting the day with prayer.
Speaker 1:Immediately surrendering, right when you open your eyes First things.
Speaker 2:Yes, lord, I surrender this day to you. Simple as that can be, do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to god. Love that scripture. So I mean, especially when you're anxious about something, you know that that brings up.
Speaker 1:That brings up this um and I don't know if I ever told this story on the podcast, but um, that specifically was just like I had never thought to ask God for anything you ever like. You know, like people say, you know ask him yeah, I'm like I don't need to ask him nothing.
Speaker 2:But when you pray, you didn't pray like Lord. Please watch over my friends and family.
Speaker 1:Please help keep us, yeah, but not nothing for me.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:I don't ask for not often, okay, I don't ask for not often, okay. I don't ask nothing for myself, I ask for others. Yeah, I'm gonna pray for you. I'm gonna pray for you. Sometimes I forget all the people I say that I'm gonna pray for and I just say lord, whoever I said I was gonna pray for, please, sometimes you gotta cover that way yeah, okay, but to ask for something for myself, that's very rare.
Speaker 2:I don't, I'm you're making me think, really, because Do? You, I mean unless it's a specific situation where I'm really worried about something, but not really, not often.
Speaker 1:No, I always and I'm not trying to toot my own horn horn, but it's very rare I'll think about myself in prayer and so, um, it's but at a minimum we should be asking the Lord to help us like guide guide us and help us through every day.
Speaker 1:So through that time that I was talking about earlier my bad time I said I was talking with my friend Justine and I said, justine, I just don't know what I'm going to do, you know. She said did you ask God? To help you and I was like I can't ask him to help me.
Speaker 1:You know, like he said but you're his daughter and if your daughter came and asked you to do something, wouldn't you do that? And maybe I did say this on a podcast, but I really feel like it needs to be said again Please do. And so she said you need to ask him for some signs that, whatever you are, whatever you are choosing to do, that this is the way. And so I said okay, I'm going to do this. I asked God for signs.
Speaker 2:You did tell me this before and my sign was the way, and so I said, okay, I'm gonna do this. I asked God for signs. You did tell me this before and and my sign was the peace sign.
Speaker 1:You said I want to see peace signs, I want to see peace signs, okay. And so look my friend Justine, right at that moment I said okay, justine, I did it. Well, maybe not the same day, but I said I did it. I asked God for peace signs and you know what I've been getting peace signs. She takes a bracelet off of her wrist. She said well, this must be for you. And it was a bracelet that said peace spelled out yeah those little yeah, you know.
Speaker 1:And she just took it off of her wrist and handed it to me that this must be for you and like after that, it was like, why wouldn't you ask God? I was like, oh, look at the. You ask.
Speaker 2:God. I was like oh, look at the rewards. There's even a scripture about that. Like if people if I forgot how it says but basically like if normal, regular people give good gifts to their children, how much more will our Heavenly Father, how much more does he want to give to us? But we don't ask, we don't ask Him. I don't know why. Are we afraid? Are we feeling unworthy?
Speaker 1:ask. We don't ask him. I don't know why. Are we afraid? Or we feel unworthy unworthy, I think. You know what. Who am I to ask him for something? Yeah, but he just, I mean, he's just like any other parent, he wants you, he wants you to follow closely to him, just like we want our children to do, you know? Yeah, and that's just a whole thing to unpack.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know so prayer for sure, in spending time in the word um obedience, even when it's hard, and I think that's one thing people like, even me I mean. I think we struggle with releasing control because we're afraid of what that? We're afraid of being called to something hard, you know, and what's he going to ask me to give up, or what's he going to, what's he going to call? What's he going to ask of me?
Speaker 1:or call me to that comfort zone ball it's hard. That comfort zone is a killer sometimes it's a killer. Because you don't want to step out of it. You're comfortable there. Yeah, you and I are so uncomfortable, like, let me not say uncomfortable, we're so comfortable.
Speaker 2:Being uncomfortable, being uncomfortable at this point, but it's a learned. It's learned though.
Speaker 1:It took us a long time.
Speaker 2:You have to practice it yeah To get comfortable being uncomfortable and the more things you like.
Speaker 1:I'm not a very I like going places, but I'm not just gonna go. You know, like if it's in my comfort zone I'll go shopping, go to target, absolutely. Go get my nails done, sure thrifting yes but um, like, let's just go, I don't know, somewhere with a lot of people.
Speaker 2:You know that's uncomfortable to me, to some random festival where we don't know anybody.
Speaker 1:That's uncomfortable to me we are learning still to be uncomfortable and that it's helped us to grow a lot of times. It's opened doors. It's helped us to grow a lot of times. It's opened doors. It's opened doors and places we had never. And opportunities, you know, and opportunities bigger than just business opportunities, Opportunities to bring others to the feet of Jesus.
Speaker 2:And meet people yeah, and people that need you To connect, that you don't know. They need you and they need you as much as you need them.
Speaker 1:Yes, and it all makes sense when it happens, when you step back and look at it, you know, yeah, and with the podcast, you know we were, you know, lots of people. That was out of our comfort zone. We were like, oh my gosh, we're going to have to you gonna have to, you know plan for it.
Speaker 2:Can we talk this much? Get clearly. People want to listen to what we have to say yeah yeah, but we knew that we were like. We just both knew like this is, this is our next move we want to do this, and so, like lord, use us however you want to use us, and because of you we've gotten great response.
Speaker 1:So thank y'all so much for listening this far yes, thank y'all so much surround yourself with people who encourage your faith.
Speaker 2:That's huge.
Speaker 1:That's so good that is what a difference. That makes you know, um, what a difference. People can influence you in a lot of ways and um, for the good and for the bad yeah um, people use that word influence in in. We've talked about that with with hal and uh, but you influencers, we hope we influence you to spend more time with your friends and to listen to god. You know, influence can be a lot and and the people around you influence who you are too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sometimes you have to take a hard look at those voices whispering in your ear and if it's going against what you know, that you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, You'll feel a pullback you know, it won't feel right, right, exactly.
Speaker 2:Sometimes we don't, you know. That's why you need to spend time in God's word and sometimes just being still and just learning his voice and his promptings. You know I don't like hear a clear Koa. You need to do this you know it's not like that. It's more of like a peaceful feeling, or a chaotic If it feels chaotic, it's not of God.
Speaker 1:You know God doesn't cause chaos.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you just, these are things, all things that you learn as you, you know, grow in your spiritual life and in your relationship with Jesus. So, if it don't all make sense at first, or if you, you know you feel lost or whatever, just keep going.
Speaker 1:Yeah, keep going, keep spending time and keep calling out to Jesus, keep calling out to him and ask him, ask him, ask him for what you need, Ask him.
Speaker 2:He already knows you need it. He just you know.
Speaker 1:He's just waiting on you.
Speaker 2:Just ask. That's so good. Let's talk about sound prevention screenings again. So Ms Dionne Benoit founded this business after her breast cancer was missed by routine mammograms. The ultrasound screenings did catch it and so she was able to take proactive measures and she is a survivor and so she wants to spread this mission of early detection and awareness. You know that there's other options out there for you If you want to take your health into your own hands. You don't need a doctor's recommendation for this. You can go and get these screenings for vascular, you know, like arteries. You can do it for your thyroid, breasts, abdomen, you know, lady parts and all those things that we need to keep an eye on y'all.
Speaker 1:And she told us a couple of stories I mean without telling us who they were just of how it's helped people to detect these things early.
Speaker 2:She's caught lots of things, yeah, and you know it might seem scary Like we were a little nervous, like what is she going to find? Oh yeah, but at the same time wouldn't you rather know if you could catch it early, before symptoms start showing up? And you know you have to take more invasive medical steps Because we can't see what's going on in there.
Speaker 1:We can't, you know. Yes, but Ms Dionne Benoit can help you with sound prevention screenings. Dionne Benoit can help you with sound prevention screenings. You can email her at soundprevention at gmailcom or you can check them out at wwwsound-preventioncom. Yes, all right. This episode is making me feel so warm and fuzzy.
Speaker 2:Warm and tingly. I agree, I feel it. The excitement is real.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like we're doing something we're supposed to be doing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this was really neat. I found some biblical examples of surrender, do it. And these are going to make your problems feel really small. Oh God, Are you going to?
Speaker 1:talk about Paul of Job.
Speaker 2:Job Paul of bad Job. Oh, you think you got it bad by you ain't never had it as bad as joe, oh lord well, tell me what you got, okay uh, mary, okay, mary, and her surrender, the ultimate surrender. Let it be done according to your word, is what she said like.
Speaker 1:I never wave it. I'm the handmaid of the Lord.
Speaker 2:Gives me the frissons everywhere. And how about Jesus?
Speaker 1:And I had what when she was 14, 15 years old.
Speaker 2:They say, yeah, young Teenager, yeah, do it. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, gethsemane.
Speaker 1:Y'all know what I'm talking about.
Speaker 2:Not my will but yours. Be done, lord that. Can you imagine what he had to sacrifice? And then I also like that he said. I also like that he said, if it's you will let this cup pass from me like I am human though one last one, last one, last effort. Lord, father, you sure about this? Are you really sure about?
Speaker 1:this. It really gives us his humanity, though you know, like you're just a human you know, yep God in human form. I love it Okay.
Speaker 2:Abraham and Isaac, you know about that.
Speaker 1:Oh bro, oh my God, me and my kids are talking about this. Could you imagine? Could you imagine? Could we do that? Do you really Like? Nope, hiking up that mountain Didn't tell the sun nothing.
Speaker 2:I can't even imagine what that must have been like. And he was just like all right, but he trusted. My only son. He trusted. He trust that is the most the faith Trusted, that something would happen, that would intervene and he wouldn't have to go through with this Uh-huh, lift it up the rock or whatever it was, I don't know the axe.
Speaker 1:I don't know what it was. I don't remember either, but he was about to let him have it.
Speaker 2:And the angel appeared. Can you imagine what a time. Yeah, and Isaac laying there. Yeah, just okay. What's okay? Okay, okay, this is for God, it's for you. His faith too, cause he could have ran. He was probably a grown man. Yeah, he could have ran.
Speaker 1:He was older, yeah, I don't know, but anyway, but he wasn't a man, I don't think.
Speaker 2:I always think of him as like a 13-year-old, a teenager maybe.
Speaker 1:Okay, like I don't know, not little enough to get too freaked out, but like he knows Something about to happen, yeah. Something about to happen. Lord help, he's going to let it go.
Speaker 2:This is. This is not funny at all, no, but you know, like I could definitely not do that, lord, I don't know.
Speaker 1:Okay, peter, walking on water, keeping our eyes on jesus, even in uncertainty like I just peter walking on water, reminds me of the chosen whenever they. He's like jesus, like get out one more time, and he's we've been doing this all night you know, yeah, and then that one, he did it and he was just like that is what turned him. You know. Yeah, I don't know that was surrender. Yeah, absolutely, because they look pretty exhausted after that long night. I mean, at least on the chosen they did.
Speaker 2:Don't get me started on the chosen. I love it so much. All right, so I just want to say, if you're watching right now on YouTube, I would love for you to weigh in on some times in your life where you've had to surrender or, you know, go into as much detail as you want, but I believe we all have a story and you never know who you may encourage and bless with your testimony testimony too, by the way. I love that saying there can, there can be no testimony without a test or however that goes. You know, testimony. Sometime we go through a little test to produce that testimony.
Speaker 1:I think this is the perfect time to bring in Miss Melissa Vanson's story and her surrender Perfect.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I'm going to read it to you, because she did. She took the time to type it out. I don't want to get anything wrong. Okay, my story. Okay, by the way, this is who started Beholdolic ministry.
Speaker 2:As we're talking about, miss melissa, my story began on december 26, 2020 with a frantic phone call from my mother telling me that my dad wouldn't wake up from his chair. What started as a journey of grief became a switch of roles from daughter to caregiver. A lot of brokenness surfaced, including feelings of unworthiness, feeling unloved, lots of anger, and the list could go on and on, but what I really felt was alone. What I call the last straw was when my favorite Pieta statue fell to the floor in pieces. I watched my life as I knew it break into pieces right there on my bedroom floor. I fell to the floor and cried. Break into pieces right there on my bedroom floor. I fell to the floor and cried, maybe even sobbed.
Speaker 2:That night alone in bed, I let the devil creep into my head and whisper in my ear that I would be better off if I wasn't in the world. And the worst part was I was ready the following night. Jesus came to me in a vision pulled me from the bottom of my pool and told me I will save you, but I want you to do two things for me have a relationship with me and my mother. I immediately went to confession the next morning and father was so gentle as I told him, crying in shame. He was lucky. I was there because I was hoping I wouldn't wake up this morning. With soft words, the eyes of Jesus and the voice of the Holy Spirit, he said well, I'm glad you're here and my journey of healing began and a retreat was born that is so beautiful yeah.
Speaker 2:At her lowest point.
Speaker 1:And God said to her this is what I need you to do. You know I need you to. I need this is what I need you to do. That's how it's. And she surrendered to that and built this ministry for him around that, and that's just so beautiful. I love that.
Speaker 2:What a beautiful Beauty from the ashes. Beauty from the ashes, I love that, yes. So, um, a couple of things to ponder on, as we in this episode just remember that God's plans are always better than ours. You know, if you feel some type of way in your life that you know God's calling you away from something, a season may be ending for you, maybe something new and scary is on the horizon and you just don't know how it's going to work out.
Speaker 1:Maybe you have a decision you need to make. Maybe you have a decision.
Speaker 2:Maybe you make, maybe you have a decision, maybe you're discerning something.
Speaker 1:You know, maybe you have a big decision. Maybe you're going to have to. You know, you're just going to have to ask Him. Let's ask Him.
Speaker 2:Let's ask Him for help, father Son.
Speaker 1:Holy Spirit, I'm going to make you pray.
Speaker 2:Oh Lord, thank you so much for the privilege to talk about this to those who need it, and I feel like we even need it too, lord, yes, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Please help us to surrender to your will every day, even though we may not be able to see the steps in front of us. Please help us to lean on you for every step in our journey, in our life. Whatever you want for us, lord, is what we want. We just ask that you be with us the whole time. Help us to feel your presence every day. Surround us with your peace. That passes all understanding, and anyone watching or listening right now that needs guidance. They, they need to know that you're there. They are ready to surrender, but they're afraid. Maybe they're not ready to surrender, but they want to be ready. Give them peace, give them peace. Lord yes, your perfect peace. We thank you so much for that gift of your peace and your discernment and we ask you to please help us to just live a surrendered life to you. Every day, in your name, we pray Amen. All right, y'all. That was good. That was so good.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Thank y'all so much for tuning in and be blessed, be blessed, and we'll be seeing y'all next time.