Last month I asked if you’d be willing to take a survey to help me understand how I was helping you in this crazy journey of life. I’m grateful for over 200 people who gave amazing feedback. Here are some fascinating things I learned from you.

How I Help You

Most of how I helped you was helping you find healing and freedom through the vehicle of authenticity. Many of you felt validated, and several said what I wrote or said validated how they felt (or validated your experience, that you no longer felt alone). I was grateful beyond words that I wasn’t known primarily as the sexual abuse lady. Hooray for FREEDOM winning out!

Because the truth is, I’m so much more than a girl who was sexually abused.

And you are so much more than what happened to you in the past. Because of Jesus, we are brand new!

What it means to live uncaged:

By far, most of you felt that living uncaged meant letting go of the past. We have an irresistible future, and we will shed our fear and sadness as we learn the art of letting go. I hope to share more about this journey in the months ahead, specific ways you can truly LET go of what’s hurting you.

How You are Impacted Most:

This particular stat was extremely helpful for me. By far, email has had the most impact, even more than my books or speaking or even this blog. Which reminds me, would you do me a quick favor and share this sign up link with a friend who may need hope from the past? As my thank you, they’ll receive this helpful ebook (or you can sign up!):

Words that Describe Mary:

It humbles me that God would take this scared girl who feared that sharing her story would result in more shame and fear and set her SO free that the first word people thought of about her was authenticity.

That sweet word means Velveteen Rabbit real, friends. It means I’ve been loved enough by God that I’m not afraid to tell the truth, even when it’s a risk. And, hopefully it means that I don’t vomit on folks for the sake of sharing, or I don’t say everything on my mind without a filter (and hurt people). I’m grateful for all the healing that’s happened over the years. And I love being authentic for your sake.

You may be in the throes of healing right now, and things seem dark. You can’t imagine being free. You’re afraid to shout your story in the darkness (which then brings light). You may think, I’ll never heal of this. I have thought that, too. And although I am still not fully healed this side of heaven, I can say I’ve experienced significant freedom. That’s my hope for you too, that you’ll find healing through your own authenticity adventure.

As I’ve shared before, an untold story never heals. So please be brave, friend, and find a safe person to share your heart with. There is freedom when you let it out.