The hardest things in our lives when redeemed by God become the most fulfilling things in our life. - Lindsey Futo

Wisdom is always hard-earned. I think that in this process of wrestling with God, that we will wind up, probably walking with some kind of a proverbial limp, but it's not a sign of weakness. It's a sign that we've wrestled with God and held on for dear life. - Lindsey Futo

In this episode, Jason Will talks with this week's agent of impact Lindsey Futo about surviving trauma and helping others by sharing personal experiences with addiction, sexual assault, shame, and redemption. Lindsey shares her own "prodigal son" story of traumatic life events and how they were a catalyst for questioning her Christian faith and how they transformed into personal healing, growth, and a stronger belief in God and other people. Finding the strength to be the person God wants you to be can be a long journey, but like many examples in scripture, the rewards are well worth the pain, sacrifice, and challenges.

Key Takeaways:

> Pain and trauma can hold one back in life, but it can also transform into a power for good.
> Addiction comes in many forms.
> Change comes from God, people, communities, and strong positive relationships.
> Unexamined guilt, shame, and trauma can lead people to harmful isolation and personal imprisonment.
> Compromising faith and principles get easier and easier with practice.
> Transformation is a progressive thing. It doesn't happen instantaneously.
> Sharing your trauma can help to heal yourself and others who are suffering.
> God gives strength to the weary, and we are comforted by God so that we can comfort others.

Quotable Quotes

I wasn't victimized because there's something wrong with me. - Lindsey Futo

To have that victim mentality, you're dishonoring your life and your transformation. - Jason Will

I realized that running from God was only putting me more in harm's way. - Lindsey Futo

That season of wandering away from God revealed to me my own depravity, and God in his mercy wanted me to know how much I needed to be made new. - Lindsey Futo

You don't have to go out and do awful things. We all have been forgiven much. - Lindsey Futo

Parenting is not an equation that you can manipulate to get the answer that you want. Your child is not your problem to solve. Your greatest act of love is the very best that you can to love them. - Lindsey Futo

When we come to the end of ourselves, it's not a matter of strength because our strength is gone. We're at the end of our rope, and God is near to the brokenhearted.

I was as good as dead, as good as gone. Worthless to anyone who would have had any sense. But I still had worth to God.

We run to alcohol instead of running to God for comfort; we numb ourselves to the discomfort. But if we numb ourselves to the discomfort we're experiencing, we're also numbing ourselves to God's comfort.

When you numb your awareness, you numb your awareness not only to the past but to the present. - Jason Will

Your child is not your problem to solve. They are your baby to love, and your greatest act of love is doing the best, the very best that you can do. - Lindsey Futo

True freedom is not that I can't something anymore. It's that I don't have to do something anymore. - Lindsey Futo

We're saved by the word, but we're healed by his people. - Jason Will

I realized that I wasn't unlovable and that I wasn't unworthy, or at least not any more unlovable or unworthy than any of us are. - Lindsey Futo

God's perfect strength is better than your very limited strength. - Lindsey Futo

When we come to the end of our own strength, God's perfect strength kicks in. - Lindsey Futo