21 December 2023

Where did the name Discover Your Voice come from? Well, once upon a time, there was a young vocalist who thought that she was doing all the right things and was walking in a God-honoring manner. What she didn’t realize was there happened to be a man in her life that wasn’t healthy. Not in himself, and certainly not for her. Sadly, she was unable to see it, but thankfully she was willing to pray and be prayed for. The request was simple: to have her eyes opened to see what it was that her mother was sensing by the Holy Spirit but couldn’t quite put to words.

The young vocalist liked to talk in addition to sing, so with the creativity we expect, God decided the best way to grab her attention was to remove her voice for a bit. Not to be cruel, but to have some space to able to truly observe and process. 

While on a short-term missions trip, time seemed to stretch. The days were long and filled with lots of activity; the job responsibilities she had weren’t hard, just detailed. As she worked and listened to what was happening around her, she began to hear things that were unsettling. Disturbing. Insulting to her abilities and skills. She overheard her boyfriend minimizing her and then watched him turn around and offer to take care of her, like she was utterly helpless and inept.

Naturally she rejected the assistance of the one who was belittling her. There was nothing physically wrong - no pain, no other symptoms - just no voice. It didn’t take her long to recognize that this relationship was not one she wanted to continue to pursue. And as she was quietly contemplating this, God, in His kindness, sent a pastor whom she’d never met with a question for her. “Do you think God is trying to tell you something? Maybe you’re in a relationship that you need to break off…”

The humorous side to her voice being gone? She was one of the translators… and the locals were better at reading her lips than her fellow countrymen.

She let God know the message had been received, loud and clear. As she agreed with God to let the relationship go, her voice began to return. It was slow to fully return, but it began coming back almost immediately upon confessing and agreeing in prayer to break up with the boyfriend.

She was beginning to discover her voice, and how it was strongest when she was leaning into God and His leading or resting in His promises. Later choices (some decided on her behalf) caused her voice to be drowned out, ignored, and minimized. If you’ve ever seen a mime portraying what it’s like to be stuck in a slowly shrinking box, you will have an excellent idea of what it felt like to lose her voice and agency. When the box began to crush her children, she realized that she had to do SOMETHING to stop the shrinking. If not for her sake, for the sake of her children.

So she began to push on the encroaching walls. It took a long time for them to stop closing in on her, but eventually they began to move away from her and her children. Once the momentum started, she began to see how the walls were not healthy. Not healthy for her children, for her, or for her spouse. Slowly the bricks were removed as fresh air and ideas began to circulate. Much of what she thought she knew about marriage began to be turned on its head. Scripture - not the interpretation or sermons about it - the actual words themselves began to clear up for her that unfaithfulness is more than just a single action. Jesus points out in Matthew 5:28 that if anyone looks at a woman lustfully, they’ve already committed adultery with her in their heart. God states very clearly in Malachi 2, that He hates “him who covers his garment with wrong and violence.” Another version considers it ‘dealing treacherously’ with the wife.

The walls began to fall and her voice began to return as things slowly became clearer. God cared more for the individuals in the relationship than He cared about the status of the relationship. Her voice continues to grow stronger, and her desire is that it would only ever be used to bring honor to God.

Federal Way, WA 98023