Let’s Get Real with Jena Burris
Welcome to Let’s Get Real, the podcast for women who feel like they’re holding it all together on the outside… but falling apart on the inside.
If you’re exhausted from pretending, overwhelmed by the pressure to be everything for everyone, or unsure who you even are anymore—you’re not alone. And you’re not crazy.
Let’s Get Real is where we have honest conversations about the struggles most people avoid—healing emotional wounds, losing yourself in motherhood, rebuilding your identity, and learning how to live whole again.
I’m Jena Burris—wife, mom, and your host. With a background in marriage and family therapy, life coaching, and years spent navigating life behind the scenes of the NFL and Hollywood, I’m passionate about creating a space where real conversations lead to real healing.
Each week, you’ll hear real stories, practical tools, and the reminder that freedom is closer than you think. Because I believe that in order to heal, we have to get real.
New episodes every Tuesday. Real talk. Real tools. Real healing.
For speaking inquiries, brand partnerships, or workshop opportunities, visit www.jenaburris.com or email jena@jenaburris.com.
Let’s Get Real with Jena Burris
The Difference Between Real Faith and Avoiding Your Pain With Laura Bratton
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Free Resource for Moms
Feeling overwhelmed and like you’ve lost yourself in the chaos of motherhood?
You’re not alone. And you don’t have to keep feeling this way.
I created this FREE guide for you:
🎁 The Overwhelmed Mom’s Guide: 10 Small Changes to Start Feeling Like You Again
Simple, realistic shifts you can start making today without adding more to your plate.
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Episode 59: The Difference Between Real Faith and Avoiding Your Pain With Laura Bratton
Faith can be powerful.
But sometimes what we call faith is actually avoidance.
In this episode, I sit down with Laura Bratton to talk about the subtle, and often invisible — difference between trusting God and bypassing our pain.
Because there’s a version of “faith” that sounds spiritual… but keeps us disconnected from our hearts.
And there’s a version of faith that requires us to feel everything.
When Faith Becomes a Shield
For many women, especially in faith communities, we’re taught to:
“Give it to God.”
“Trust the process.”
“Count it all joy.”
And while those truths hold weight, they can sometimes become shields we hide behind.
Laura shares how easy it is to spiritually explain away grief, anger, disappointment, or trauma instead of actually processing it. We quote scripture. We pray harder. We smile through it.
But underneath?
The pain is still there.
Real faith isn’t pretending we’re okay.
It isn’t minimizing heartbreak.
It isn’t rushing ourselves to the lesson.
Real faith is bringing our full, messy, human selves to God — without editing.
The Courage to Feel
One of the most powerful parts of this conversation is the reminder that avoidance delays healing.
When we suppress grief, it doesn’t disappear.
When we silence anger, it doesn’t dissolve.
When we rush past disappointment, it doesn’t transform.
It just goes underground.
Laura talks about how true healing begins when we allow ourselves to name what we’re actually feeling, even when those feelings feel “unspiritual.”
Sad.
Angry.
Confused.
Disillusioned.
Tired.
God isn’t afraid of those emotions.
And neither should we be.
Faith That Holds Both
Faith isn’t the absence of pain.
It’s the willingness to stay present inside it.
This episode invites you to consider:
- Where am I using spiritual language to avoid emotional work?
- Where am I rushing myself to gratitude instead of sitting in grief?
- What would it look like to trust God while still honoring my pain?
Because the deepest faith isn’t shiny.
It’s honest.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re trusting God or just avoiding something hard… this conversation will gently help you untangle the difference.
And if you’ve felt pressure to “be strong” in your faith while quietly hurting inside — you are not alone.
Connect with Laura Bratton
You can learn more about Laura’s work, her book Harnessing Courage, and her coaching and speaking at LauraBratton.com.
Her work is a powerful reminder that grief, fear, faith, and gratitude can exist together and that moving forward doesn’t require having everything figured out.
P.S. If this episode resonates with you, please reach out. I truly want to hear your story. You can DM me on Instagram @jenaburris or email me at jena@jenaburris.com. Your voice matters — and I’m here for you.