Where Are The Real Christians? How We Heal From The Pain, Ep 27

A simple school-day image—a big pink eraser—becomes a mirror for how we spend our lives. We talk about the shards we give away to arguments, doomscrolling, and expectations, and what’s left when it’s time to heal our own page. With licensed professional counselor Britni Cannon, we move from theory to practice: how boundaries protect compassion, how prayer in the moment shapes wise responses, and how to process repetitive injuries without going numb.

We don’t shy away from the heavy stuff—microaggressions, public violence, and the emotional cost of living online. If your heart feels dulled by the feed, you’re not broken; you’re overloaded. We share grounded ways to clear space: silent walks without headphones, journaling that turns ache into words, and family check-ins that help kids and adults name what hurts. We also track capacity like a dashboard, noticing mood spikes and fatigue as early warnings to reset before burnout arrives.

Faith runs through every layer of the conversation. We wrestle with trusting ideology over God and the quiet ways idolatry hides in productivity, politics, and reputation. Grace isn’t a slogan here; it’s a daily practice of sweeping our own porch before policing someone else’s. We explore Galatians, the freedom found in Christ, and the idea that life’s trials are open-book tests—God hands us answers if we slow down enough to listen. Therapy and, when needed, medication are framed as tools God can use, not rivals to prayer.

If you’re ready to protect your peace, feel again, and respond with wisdom instead of reflex, this conversation offers real handles. Subscribe for more Spirit-led, practical episodes, share this with a friend who needs it, and leave a review to help others find the show. Then tell us: what boundary will you set this week?

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Transcript

The Pink Eraser Metaphor

SPEAKER_01 0:00

And so I I kind of use the example of a pink eraser. If you have one of those big pink erasers that we used to have in elementary school, you know, you think you can erase and fix everything and those just wipe off those little shards of rubber, brush them away. But eventually that eraser wears out, right? And what happens when you've given away all of your eraser and there's things that you need to fix for yourself? But you've given these little shards away to all these things that don't matter. You can't get them back, right? And I think that's I think that the pink eraser is our life, right? We have to balance what we give away. What is worth your response?

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Hi friends, this is Kelly Johnson, and you're listening to a bonus episode of In the Flow. This is where I step outside of our normal season themes to share what God is placing on my heart. Sometimes a story, sometimes a prayer, but always spirit-led. If you're new here, make sure to check out past episodes and full seasons where we go deep on themes that really matter. And don't forget, you can also watch the video version of In the Flow on YouTube. Be sure to subscribe

Bonus Setup And Two-Part Context

SPEAKER_00 1:08

so you don't miss a beat. My conversation with Britney Cannon, a licensed professional counselor and a close friend, was so rich and important that we're sharing it in two parts. If you haven't heard or watched part one, make sure to go back and listen. We dive deep into the emotional, spiritual, and cultural impact of this moment. Today we explore how to heal, realign, and respond. You know, in part one, I talk about like those repetitive injuries, the repetitive trauma of those microaggressions, of, you know, some people call it the double tax of being an underrepresented person in an organization, right? Whether you're, you know, whatever your diversity is, so to speak, that there's this double tax because not only are we absorbing comments daily, but then we're also expected to educate people. We're also expected to extend an inordinate amount of grace, which I think being a believer, that that pressure to extend grace gets even higher,

Repetitive Injuries And The Double Tax

SPEAKER_00 2:20

right? And so I'm just wondering, you know, what advice or perspective would you share with us for those of us who do encounter these repetitive injuries and yet we're trying to trust God, we're trying to move forward. Like, what do we do?

SPEAKER_01 2:41

And I Kelly, I think it's become really difficult because we have, because of these repetitive injuries, we become desensitized. And it's difficult to find that feeling, right? It almost feels like we've become cold so that we can function, but that also feels really unnatural, at least to me, right? And so I think we absorb, we absorb, we absorb. But it like a sponge, you can only it can only absorb so much. And that's its job to absorb. It's gonna start pouring out, right? And so I think we have to make sure that we're checking in with ourselves. I think that prayer time and centering yourself, going into your day, ending your day throughout your day is key, right? And prayer time, we know doesn't have to be, you know, on our faces for an hour. It's sometimes just, okay, Lord, remember what we talked about? I need your help, right? I need your support, right? I'm struggling with this, and I know you know me, and so help me, right? Sometimes it's just the quick words, right? And so in those conversations with God. But I think we have to make sure that we are taking care of ourselves and setting the boundaries. Sometimes we will feel obligated, or that is, this is the opportunity for us to speak on it. Sometimes we have to say, that's not my battle, right? I'm out of it. And that's okay because you have to make sure that you're not giving away too much of yourself to things that are not going to replenish your value, right? And so I kind of

Prayer In The Moment And Boundaries

SPEAKER_01 4:16

use the example of a pink eraser. If you have one of those big pink erasers that we used to have in elementary school, you know, you think you can erase and fix everything and those just wipe off those little shards of rubber, brush them away. But eventually that eraser wears out, right? And what happens when you've given away all of your eraser and there's things that you need to fix for yourself. But you've given these little shards away to all these things that don't matter. You can't get them back, right? And I think that's, I think that the pinky eraser is our life, right? We have to balance what we give away. By the end of our lives, it's it's gonna be damaged. There may be some holes in it, you know, this piece is hanging off, but that is our life, right? It starts out shiny and pink, but by the end of it, but you have to determine what you're gonna give away. What is worth your response? Some things are not worth a response, some things are not worth your energy, some things we have to let go, some things we have to stop. Social media is one of the hardest drains on our mind, our spirit. It's the first thing most of us, I can't, you know, I those people that say I don't have social media are very interesting to me. It's an anomaly, you know, because it's one of those things that you kind of, it's very easy to get sucked into it, right? Um, and it can be very detrimental to our spirits, our souls. And I think understanding that we have to back away from that sometimes. Um, we most of us saw the video of a man get murdered in front of people and just looked at it and was like, oh, you know, we weren't there might have been a tug, right? I immediately thought, oh my gosh, I hope his his reportedly the children were there. I I pray that they didn't see that. The wife, I can't imagine. But it wasn't I wasn't shocked and horrified the way that we should be seeing someone violently murdered in that way, right? Not

Desensitization To Violence And Loss

SPEAKER_01 6:20

shocked and horrified when I see the Church of Latter-day Saints had a shooting, right? Someone drove in and there was a fight. Okay. You know, we've we've heard it so much that it doesn't break our hearts anymore, right? And that is incredibly scary because we even know, right? The shortest verse, Jesus wept. And we don't weep anymore, I think, until we are beyond capacity. And that is what I think is the scariest thing for me from the perspective as a mom, as a therapist, as just a human being. That compassion and our souls being grieved is not there anymore. And that that is concerning.

unknown 7:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Wow. That is so good. I mean, so I'm hearing that you're you're challenging, encouraging us to have discernment around do I say something right now, Lord, or do I hold my tongue? Right. And that prayer, of course, but I also love, you know, your reminder of praying in the moment. You know, yes, we have our quiet time, our devotional time. You know, we go to church or we watch a Bible study or whatever we're we do for our spiritual growth. But that prayer in the moment of, Lord, do I say something? Sure. Or if I do, what do I say? Like, give me the words to say. How do I reflect you? How do I reflect your love in this moment, even if your love in this moment is firm, right? Because we tend to think, oh, if it, if we're loving, if we're gracious, it's like, oh, it's okay. Although the Bible does tell us, you know, somebody hits you, give them, you know, give them the other side. So, you know, there's there is truly an opportunity for discernment around in this exact moment, Lord, knowing you know me, you know them. This other person is also your child. And so, how do I navigate in the moment? But your pink eraser and kind of sponge analogy is also about, you know, it it further supported kind of what you were saying around having boundaries and not pouring out in an unhealthy way. And the desensitation, though, like we got to talk a little bit more about that. I actually have not seen the video of the murder of Charlie Kirk. I can't. It took me like nine months to watch the video of George Floyd. Like I knew that it would disturb my spirit and my soul at deep, deep levels that I have to be very careful what I allow myself to see. So it might be several months before I, you know, see it is devastating to me that that happened to him. It's devastating that we have become so desensitized. And I think part of it is the frequency, you know, bad stuff happens a lot. And I also think, where do we have space for it? Like in the busyness of our days, what spaces are we even allowed to process? Because we're not doing it at church. Sure. We're listening to a sermon, you know, from somebody who is sharing their perspective on the tragedies of life, of the world, but that that's only us hearing what they say. It's not it's not allowing us to share in a safe environment. Where can we go to be vulnerable? I mean, unless you have a therapist, and not everybody does, unfortunately, not everybody can, unfortunately. So I'm just, what would you say? What

Discernment And Reflecting God’s Love

SPEAKER_00 10:25

are some ways that we can begin to process what we see so that we reduce how desensitized we have become?

SPEAKER_01 10:36

Yeah. I think that we as a people, all of us, can benefit from stillness and quietness, right? I think we have things sound all the time. And so some suggestions. I highly recommend having a therapist. Obviously, I'm a therapist, so I I'm a therapist with a therapist. So I recommend that. But I also think that if that is not for you, because I know it's not for some people, walks, right? Going out to walk, just and and without the headphones sometimes, right? Just to hear your thoughts, hear what you're struggling with and clear find space to clear them out, right? Um, and sometimes just sitting in the car on your drive without music, right? Um, journaling is a fantastic way to get those things out, um, to write just whatever flows through you and to the pen. And I think that finding whatever it is for you that qualifies as processing so that you are back to center is critical. Sometimes it's talking, having those conversations as a family at the dinner table. You know, let's kind of, we saw a lot this week. How was everyone feeling? What was the high? What was the low? You know, what scares you about it? And I think especially if you have children of school age, I think having directed questions, not just how was your day? Fine, right? What's going on? Everything okay? Yeah, everything's good, right? And meanwhile, they're falling apart. So we have to make sure that we're teaching our children too how to process and how to share their emotions and not quiet them. You know, I had an incident last night where my own child said, I don't like when you ask me that. And I was like, But I also have to give him the space to create boundaries, right? And I know if my mother was sitting in the room and heard him say that, her response probably would have been different from mine. But I also have to teach him, my husband and I have to teach him how to process and share his emotions and make sure that he's not compromising his own needs, which is difficult in the moment when it's coming from a 14-year-old, right? But if I quiet them now, I'm gonna quiet them for could potentially forever. And so I think that having those conversations with your children, family members to make sure that they process, get it out, express their feelings. And and and I think it's beneficial for us to set limits for ourselves. Don't reach for the phone first thing, right? Have some type of phrase that, you know, sometimes mine is just, well, if he covers the lilies, how much more? Right? I'm fine. If he can clothe them in beauty,

Processing Practices That Recenter Us

SPEAKER_01 13:20

he's got me, right? If he's in the small things, right? And so having those phrases for yourself in those moments where you can't process, but just to get you through, and then being very, very intentional about your self-care and whatever, finding that thing that works for you because it's different for everyone to make sure that you're processing. Because if you don't, again, it's like that sponge. Your body will have physical signs, you'll your health, you know, here comes high blood pressure, here comes the anxiety, here comes, you know, I can't go out in crowds anymore because I'm so uncomfortable. Right. The feelings don't just go away, they're stored somewhere if we don't deal with them. Um, and so it's really, really important to not push things down, but to acknowledge and process when you feel like you're safe enough to do so.

unknown 14:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:13

It's critical.

SPEAKER_00 14:15

Yeah, those are all great suggestions. Journaling, walking without stimulation, you know, whether it's music or a podcast episode, unless it's in the flow. I'm kidding. But yes, because sometimes, I mean, I walk, I journal, but I know that there's times when I go on a walk where the Lord's like, just do it in silence. Don't call anybody. You know, just talk to me. Yeah, right. It's funny. I don't even remember, you might remember. How many years ago was it that you challenged me to sit in stillness for five minutes and I almost fell out?

SPEAKER_01 14:54

You did. Um, it probably about five years ago at least, you think? It was before COVID, what wasn't it? It might have been in the midst of COVID. Okay. Yeah. So it was about five, six years ago. And your look at me and your response to me was not very exciting, to say the least.

SPEAKER_00 15:19

Yeah. I thought you had just cursed at me and Well, you spoke to me like my 14-year-old said, I don't like when you say that to me. Yeah. Well, and it was it was utterly foreign. Exactly. I had never thought about that. It sounded like an abomination, you know, to sit still. Who does that? And why would I want to sit still? I am happy to report I do sit in stillness now. So you'll be you'll be very proud of me. I'm always proud of you, Kelly. Oh. Thank you. Thank you. You know, I'm always proud of you too, and I love you so much. And I love that you say what needs to be said, right? I mean, I know that you really try to practice discernment in the more in the moment. Um, doesn't mean that we're gonna always get it right, but I know that you really try. So I appreciate that you're sharing with us some things, some tools, some handles that we can apply to how we're processing all the

Family Conversations And Teaching Kids

SPEAKER_00 16:20

stuff that happens, right? I mean, unfortunately, the murder, you know, of Charlie Kirk, I like to me, murder doesn't even feel strong enough, but that that incident, I think really forced a lot of us to really notice what's happening in the world. I think that I'll speak for myself. I was just sort of going through the motions of life, you know, focusing on, you know, raising my family, working, doing the normal things of life. But I knew things were bad in the world. We know that there's global conflicts happening all around us. In the week, I think this was the same week of Charlie Kirk's murder, three heads of nations stepped down. Right? There are massive issues happening, not just in our backyard, but globally. We see the businesses closing down, the restaurants, and we see small businesses suffering. We hear of friends losing their jobs, and yet I think that it's easy to sort of just keep going. But I think his murder and that tragedy kind of forced a lot of us, myself especially, to really say, you know what, it's it's been bad for a minute. And I think that I had just been pushing through, not really allowing myself to process. I was like, I was talking to another therapist friend, and I was like, okay, yep, it's time for me to get back in therapy. I kind of, you know, I had a transition, my therapist moved out of state. So I was like, okay, I'm gonna see how long I can go. And I was like, nope, you need to get your butt back in therapy because there's a way to think that you don't need it or that we don't need to process. I journal, but I haven't journaled about like all the things happening in the world. I think it's easy to just not go there. Yeah, we don't want to acknowledge it.

SPEAKER_01 18:25

Yeah, it's hard to acknowledge because that means it's real.

SPEAKER_00 18:28

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.

unknown 18:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:31

So I want to talk about, we've talked about a lot in terms of being like, I call it being overstimulated when the physical, um, when the the uh mental and um spiritual become so much. I don't even know if that's a good word for it. What what do you think?

SPEAKER_01 18:48

I just think it's our capacity, right? And I think we scale that as individuals. And and I think it's important too. And your example of saying, yeah, I was like, oh, I need to go back to therapy, was you're realizing that

Morning Limits And Soul Anchors

SPEAKER_01 19:00

my scale is getting too close to 10, right? Which in 10 means I'm gonna, I'm gonna fall apart here. I'm gonna break. And realizing that, and I think we have to make sure that we do that for ourselves, the scale, okay, I'm a I've been extra moody or snappy for a few days. What's going on here? And, you know, I need to reset, right? So let me get that walk and let me do these things that bring me back down to the level where I feel safe and functioning and that grounding to bring myself back to center is critical.

unknown 19:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

Yeah. Yeah. No, thank you for that. That's really good. I I've had to really train myself to pay attention to those signals and not ignore them. Um, and I think when you have either a trauma background or just those repetitive injuries from day-to-day stuff, I think it is easy. I know it's easy for me to not pay attention to what my mind, my body, and even just my spirit is saying. Like, like, no, sometimes I know the Holy Spirit's like, come and talk to me about that. Right. And and also let me show you yourself a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

Because it's not everybody else all the time, right? Yes.

SPEAKER_00 20:14

Absolutely. Like I've really had to confront how much confidence I put in the way that I vote, in my own ideology, because confidence in something other than God is not good, right? Like it doesn't matter if you are right-leaning, left-leaning, whatever, confidence in a system or an ideology or people more than confidence in God is really idolatry. And we know what scripture tells us about that.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

And I think one of our values as Christians has to be that we are more interested in praising God's reputation than proving our own, right? And so walking in that, and what does that look like in our values? How do we do that? And so I think when we go into fear and despair, and I don't know why this is not happening for me, right? What am I doing wrong? That is putting it on our reputation and not God's proven dynamic track record of what he's done and how gracious he is and loving he is towards us. And and I think for me too, the balance of where we are in the world right now is this is nothing new to God, right? This is not anything that has caught him by surprise. I feel like still in this situation, he's still sleeping in the boat, and they're like, Can you get up? You know, he's like, Y'all are fine. It's fine, right? I've got you. Just trust in me. Follow me, watch me. Um, and and if I'm allowing it, I'm still ever present, right? And I think that's the greatest part for me in my mindset. And like you said, there's no political party that specifically falls on Christian values, right? I think if if we go into that, it's it's almost like Galatians and the laws, right? And following that, and the only way that we we're not justified by observing the laws, we're

Noticing Capacity And Early Signals

SPEAKER_01 22:20

justified by our faith in Christ, right? Period. And so, and I think that this time really reminds us like of Galatians, and it's God's favor not based on personal performance, it's not based on any of those things that we hear, see, or are told to believe about ourselves, right? Um it is what it is what God says, and that we are we have freedom in Christ just by the way of Christ and believing in Christ, right? Yes. I'm gonna pull up a verse um real quick. Well, you're doing that too. I know Galatians talks about the false teachings of the gospel, right? The false prophets, the Jewish practices and legalism, all those things, right? The family of God. And I think that we just make have to make sure that we adhere to what the word already says, right? And when and I think when you see that, there's a peace about these things because you know, okay, well, this is nothing new, right? This is the same thing that they were experiencing back then, right? Jews and Gentiles, right? Democrats and Republicans, blacks, whites, right? Like it's all it's all the same, right? And then we're we're trying to gain his favor on personal performance, and that doesn't, that doesn't work.

SPEAKER_00 23:47

That's not what he's about. Jesus already, first of all, we couldn't do it in our own strength. The law showed us that the children of Israel could not keep the law, and I know I couldn't keep it. Sure. So Jesus had to come and be the perfect sacrifice, the sacrifice without blemish. So Jesus stands, the blood of Jesus, the body of Jesus stands in the gap for all the ways that we fall short. You know, scripture tells us, you know, he was bruised for our iniquity, he was chastised for our peace. All of our sin was put on Jesus and he was sacrificed for us. And so when we, I'm so glad we're going there because one of the things that I feel like the Lord has been highlighting to me is that the things that are happening right now are an invitation to come back to him. The verse I was trying to find is Psalm 20, verse 7, which says, Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. You know, the horses and the chariots can be anything. Anything. Yeah. You know, to modernize it, we could trust in the neighborhood we live on. Oh, I'm in a safe, I'm in a safe neighborhood, right? I could put my trust in my address. I could put my

Idolatry Of Ideology Versus Faith

SPEAKER_00 25:10

trust in, oh, my kid went to the right school. It's really about where where is our confidence? Is it in the way that we vote? Is it in the fact that, you know what, I'm a good Christian because I am pro-life. I'm a good Christian because I am compassionate and have social justice, you know, care about social justice. We can we put priorities on what parts of God to elevate. And I think the Lord has really been showing me that He is all of those things. He's not just about protecting the innocent. He's not just about justice, he's not just about compassion or morality. He is all of those things. But when we say, you know what, this part of God is more important. This part of my faith and the practice of my faith is more important. And I'm gonna ignore or not care about the other dimensions of God, the other part of that verse that we're quoting, right? Right, right. When we pick and choose, I'm gonna focus on this one part of the verse that I like that resonates with me, that resonates with my family or my background, then we are trying to create our own version of God. And that is dangerous. If you haven't already downloaded it, my free devotional, God's Not Impressed With Me, goes even deeper into this conversation. Especially if you're feeling spiritually dry, disillusioned, or just out of alignment. It's free, available on my website, iamkellejohnson.com, and the link is in the show notes. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 27:03

And I think it's key to just you have to focus on the plank in your eye before you worry about the speck in someone else's eye, right? I can't say, oh, that's a sin, that's a sin, that's a sin, when I'm not living without sin in my own world, right? There's things that I do that are displeasing to God on a daily basis, minute by minute, right? I'm sure.

unknown 27:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:26

My thoughts are not all pure, right? And so thank God that He is forgiving, right? And so for me, that is the biggest thing for me about Christianity and my walk spiritually. I got too much to sweep around my own front door to be telling you what you should be doing around yours, right? And while I'm telling you to do what you need to do around yours, mine is dirty, right? That's right. And so I think it's just that I try really hard to walk in grace, right? And giving grace and compassion, I fall short all the time. But I think that that is what I really tried to walk in is that that grace and discernment to say that's not mine to carry, or it is to carry, or God wants me to do this in this moment for that. And I find that that is what gives me a lot of peace. I don't know the answers, right? I don't know what's right. I don't know all the things that are wrong. I'm still a learning Christian, right? I think we all are. And growing in my own faith, I think that when I stop growing in my faith, that's when my life will be over, right? But I think

Galatians, Grace, And Freedom

SPEAKER_01 28:40

every day until then, I want to grow in my faith. I want to grow in my walk with Christ. I want you to feel Christ in me. And to me, that is what being a Christian is about. Not saying who I think a household is made of, what I think should happen here, what colors right, what colors wrong. That's for God to judge, not me. Right. And who you should love and who you should God told me to love everybody, so that's what I'll do, right? The best of my ability. And that and that's a challenge, even when I know someone doesn't love me in return, right? Just because of who I am. But that's again for God to deal with and manage, and for me to just stand firm that He is faithful in all things, right? He will cover all things, He's makes all path straight. So I can't say some things God's got this, but then not that. That's inconsistent with who he is, right? And so I for me, one of my my favorite phrases that I repeat frequently in my head is all things, all things, all things, right? And so knowing that good, bad, everything in between, he's in the midst of And just keep walking forward as my role. And to sit down at times when he tells me to sit down, right? Step back. I um I think I shared with you, I, you know, was laid off in May, um, completely unexpected. Um, and I didn't have a money tree planted in the background, backyard, or anything like that, but never questioned in the moment how, why, who, you know, what happened. And I think that, and I shared with you too that God told me it was gonna be okay back in February. I didn't know the connection. I was laid off in May and just recently was given a new offer, but God showed all those things to me. And I think that if I had been crying and down and oh my gosh, and in worry, I wouldn't have had, I had the best time off and break and just being able to do what I needed to do and reset my soul and my spirit, my mind. I couldn't tell you honestly, with the job that I was in last time, I was consistently praying. You know, I was I know that I made work my highest priority. And I know that is completely out of line above my God, above my family, above myself, above everything. And it tied back to trying to prove my worth as a black female, right? I've got to do, I've got to do. I know I've got to work 10 times harder. But was that trying to prove my worth to them or to myself? Yeah, right. And I know that God has spoken to me in a way that I said, I, I will, I will lesson learned, Lord, because even though I was giving their all, it they cut me with no problem in a three-minute phone call, you know? And so, and I was giving, giving, giving everything to them. Um, and so learning that, right, and realizing that, and I'm grateful to God. And and I just kept saying, I can't wait. I know that you have a promise. I know that you have a purpose, I know you have a plan, and I will trust you in all things.

SPEAKER_00 32:10

Well, I love that I appreciate you sharing that vulnerable and fresh testimony, right? Because this is all recently unfolded

An Invitation Back To God

SPEAKER_00 32:20

in terms of the new job, which I'm so excited about for you. But like in February, did you know your job was gonna end in May? I'm just curious. I did not.

SPEAKER_01 32:30

I had been feeling spiritually that I needed to move. And I also knew that God had been telling me that for a while. But I was this is going on the economy, it's not the time to change jobs. Oh, I don't know what's gonna happen in this. And, you know, well, when my son's going off to college, I need to be able to have this freedom. And so I kept making excuses, and he said, Okay, all right, I see that you're not gonna do this on your own, so I'll do it for you. And so, but I did not know, but I knew that I needed to make the move. Wow. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:04

I just keep hearing the word invitation in my spirit, and I think your story, your testimony about your job highlights that God is inviting his people who are going to be the real Christians, right? Because there's the world has created a version of Christianity that does not look like what scripture tells us. You know, when tragedy happens, when difficulty happens, whether it's a layoff, whether there's a tragedy with the murder or a mass shooting or a business closure, whatever it is, a health issue, caregiving responsibilities, you talked about that earlier. All of that, I believe, God is trying to use as an invitation. Come to me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Rest for your soul. Rest, not like the world gives, right? Rest that's not gonna come from you striving, rest that's not gonna come from you putting your confidence in a political party, rest that's not gonna come from your direct deposit every two weeks, rest that's not gonna come from your K or your address, or the fact that little Johnny is a national merit scholar, right? Like he is, I just sense that God is very serious about calling his people to a new level, new dimensions of walking by faith, not by sight, for picking up our cross daily and following him, even when it's hard, even when it doesn't make sense, even when it quite frankly means that there's going to be a level of pain, unfortunately. Who was it that I was reading? Was it Isaiah? I was reading, I'm doing like read the Bible in a year plan. Okay. And I'm in um Isaiah right now. And the prophet Isaiah walked around, God told him to walk around naked for three years. Like, as my kids would say, Bucky naked. Like, right, right, like no clothes for three years. I I was speechless.

SPEAKER_01 35:35

Right, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 35:38

I read like the comment, like uh the comment section on this passage, and there is some theological debate on whether or not he was fully, fully naked or partially.

SPEAKER_01 35:48

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 35:49

But it was enough nakedness to where it was embarrassing because Isaiah wrote about it. And I'm like, but he did it. And I'm not like not for three days,

Open-Book Tests And Listening

SPEAKER_00 36:00

because three days I would be like, right, three minutes I might have a struggle with. Right, right. Exactly. But three years.

SPEAKER_01 36:11

Three years.

SPEAKER_00 36:13

Three years. And so the Lord or scripture tells us that we will suffer trials and tribulations. But I had this thought this week, and I'll close here and I'll turn it to you to see if there's any kind of final thoughts you want to share. But I had this thought this week as I was driving, and I was like, Lord, you're the only one who gives us a test, but you give us the answers. Like you you want us to pass the test. Because in the test, there's refinement. In the test, there's growth. In there's in the test, there's new levels of trust and understanding of who he is. So it's a test. He gives us the answers. It's in the book.

unknown 36:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:59

But it's also like it's an open book test. But it's also a test that what made me say that is I've been praying for a few months, for the last couple of months, about just where I am right now. And I feel like I've hit this sort of ceiling or threshold. And I was like, Lord, why? Why is that there? And he showed me some specific areas to pray in that I had not even thought about at all. And I know it it only came from Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_01 37:32

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 37:33

He was like, No, you need to pray about this. And I was like, okay.

unknown 37:38

Right.

SPEAKER_00 37:38

And that's what that's kind of what gave me that aha moment of you're the only teacher who gives us the answers. You're the only teacher who wants us to do well. Like, yes, you're taking this test. I know it's hard, but here, here's the answers. Let me let me slide that over to you. Right? Are we gonna pick up the paper that gives us the answers? Are we gonna listen? Are we gonna incline our hearts? Are we gonna incline our ears, our minds to him to receive the answers? To me, that is the invitation we're in right now.

SPEAKER_01 38:19

That's this. And I think it's for us, it's time to grow legs deep in our roots, as you said, as Christians. And I think it's just living day to day in those values, but also making sure that we take care of ourselves so that we can walk in those values. You can't do that if you're not in a good space, right? And I know that a lot of us come from generations that just pray through it, get over it, get through it. But if you are in a critical situation mentally, there's overwhelming depression, overwhelming anxiety, overwhelming whatever, right? I think that it is also very critical to get the support that God has enabled us to have as well. You know, I go to therapy, but I also pray too, right? I'm a therapist. I believe in the power and the blood of Jesus, but I also believe in the power and blood of medication, right? The med power of medication as well. And so

Therapy, Support, And Self-Care

SPEAKER_01 39:20

it doesn't have to be one or the other. We don't have to white knuckle through life. We have supports. It's like you said, God gives us those answers to the test. And even when we're putting the wrong answer or fussing, like, God, you know, I don't like that kind of pen. You know, I prefer a pencil when I take a test or this, that, the other. He still is like, okay, I'm gonna let you make it on that one. Yeah. But gives us a little bit of grace and movement and says, okay, well, you, okay, well, that door is gonna take a little longer because you want it to be a little bit recalcitrant, but you still have the movement, right? You still have the peace, you still have the the compassion that God gives and the love. Like when I think of his love and his mercy and his grace, I just I'm speechless because it makes me want to tear up, because I know that I am because he is, right? And everything that I've experienced is because he loves me so that he is willing to let me do those things hard, difficult, everything in between. But he know he loves me enough to want me to have everything that I deserve, even when I fight him. Because I'm a I'm a little bit of a fighter sometimes, you know, and we don't always understand. But as I've gotten stronger in my faith too, I realize, okay, this is, you know, what's God and what isn't, right? But also, okay, I'm gonna take my hands off it because I know when I had my hands off it, we made a little bit of a mess. So I'm just gonna get that away at the start instead of in the process when it's a complete mess. And he has to work even greater to fix all my mistakes, right? So, no, I just think it's important for us as people to live on those values of love, compassion, integrity, generosity, respect, faith, worshiping God, and then just walking in that and letting our light be his light, right? And so, and his light be our light. And I think that's how we make it through this struggle, this time, this difficulty of feeling all these questions and this existential dread and all these things, but knowing that biblically, spiritually, we will get through it. It's been, you know, we've gotten through it before. And so we will continue to walk in faith and trust in God and remain like your shirt says, remain.

SPEAKER_00 41:44

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 41:46

We will remain.

SPEAKER_00 41:47

Yes. No, I love what you're saying and kind of leaving us with this final thoughts because we do have to remain in his love, his compassion, his tender mercy, reminding ourselves that they're new every single morning. I don't have to live on yesterday's mercy. He just gave me new mercy today, right? And tomorrow he's gonna give me a new measure of mercy. No other God like that. And I think that in all of our, I think it's Ecclesiastes, in all of our getting, you know, get wisdom, but I also think it's what I'm hearing you say a little bit is remembering that yes, we're supposed to give love and compassion to others, but we also have to give it to ourselves. Because if we are only pouring out, if we're only focused on how we treat other people, but we're ignoring how we treat ourselves, you know, if we're forcing ourselves to white knuckle it through things without therapy, without journaling, without having quiet time and stillness, without texting a friend or saying, you know what, I'm not okay. I'm just not. And like being honest and real about it, we're not gonna be able

Remaining In Love And Mercy

SPEAKER_00 43:00

to love our neighbor as we love ourselves because we're not loving ourselves well.

SPEAKER_01 43:04

No. Absolutely. 100%. That's I'm perfectly stated. You know, we have to take care of ourselves. We are God's child resource. He created us, and so we have to live in a way that's honoring him by taking care of ourselves, right? So that we can be available and a willing vessel to do all the things that he would have us called to do in the world and in life.

SPEAKER_00 43:27

Yes. Wow. Well, this has been so good. I was hoping, you know, I've been praying about, okay, Lord, I'm putting this out there. I'm I'm asking this question, where are the real Christians? And I didn't only want to share it from my own stories and my experiences. I wanted to look at it from a mental health perspective. And so you're definitely helping us do that today. So I'm so appreciative of you taking time out of your schedule to do that and giving us some very practical ways to think about how we take care of ourselves. And then I'll be talking to a pastor as well who will help us maybe have a biblical view, a theological conversation about unity and what does that mean. So thank you so much, Brittany. I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 44:14

I'm I'm glad to be here. I've completely enjoyed it and taken some nuggets of my own for my own walk. So thank you, Kelly.

SPEAKER_00 44:23

Thank you for flowing with me today. Subscribe to In the Flow on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube, and be sure to grab your free devotionals on my website, iam KellyJohnson.com. Until next time, stay in the flow.