We got "Sozo'd"!!!!!

Ok. So let's start with being "Sozo'd" as I am sure you haven't heard that word before (or maybe you have) and you think I'm crazy. I'm not crazy. Well maybe a little. Sooooo Sozo Ministry is based out of Bethel Church in Redding, CA. According to bethelsozo.com, "SOZO is the Greek word translated “saved, healed, delivered.” Sozo ministry is a unique inner healing and deliverance ministry aimed to get to the root of things hindering your personal connection with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. With a healed connection, you can walk in the destiny to which you have been called." It was definitely very healing for both Robert and I. We live close to Redding and have heard about the ministry and have friends that have experienced it and so we felt like it would be beneficial for us. We both have had tough childhoods, as well as, really tough circumstances in our marriage that we've had to overcome. We'd recently hit a rough patch in our marriage brought on by some deep rooted issues of personal lack of identity and unforgiveness towards each other. We'd been praying about getting to the heart of the issues and receiving healing for them. Now, this Sozo was certainly not the end-all-be-all answer to our issues but it was very revealing to what issues we hadn't received complete clarity and healing for emotionally and spiritually and, if I'm being honest, I get a little shy around things that are designed to get to root of issues. Even counseling, I get a little freaky because it can be scary and painful to dig up the things that hurt us so bad in the past. But I know that if those issues remain, that we haven't fully healed from, like childhood trauma or tragedy, dysfunctional upbringing, mistakes we made as teens or young adults, and the list goes on, then they will affect our marriage negatively. There were two powerful revelations I received in the Sozo. The first one was that I had never forgiven my body for committing sexual sin prior to marriage and I never took back my purity in Christ Jesus. Robert and I had pre-marital sex. It had a HUGE impact on our marriage because I carried guilt over it for several years into our marriage which led to self-hatred. It also caused me to distrust Robert because I felt like he allowed it to happen and because he did he didn't value me. While I dealt with the guilt, unforgiveness and distrust long ago I still had never forgiven my body for making those sexual mistakes and I never realized that God can and does restore our sexual purity and righteousness through Christ Jesus. Side note for those not married: DO NOT have sex before marriage. You will save yourself a lot of hurt, pain and heartache. Trust me on this one. The second revelation I received was that I hadn't forgiven my parents for not being there for me in my current struggles within my marriage. I grew up with very loving and supportive parents who both struggled with their own issues that caused them to not be able to be there for me totally as a parent should. They still haven't dealt with some of these issues and so even now in my life they haven't been able to be a support system for me when going through my own issues in marriage. Forgiving them was crucial because it allowed me to not expect them to be that support system and caused me to look even more to my Heavenly Father to be there for me during those difficult times. It made the revelation that He's been there all along so much more real and that I could really lean on Him anytime I need or want to because he’s my Dad. So why did I tell you about my Sozo experience? First, because I recommend a Sozo for ANYONE..period. Whether you are well advanced in your journey or just beginning. It can reveal issues you didn't know you hadn't dealt with and allow you to walk in more freedom. Second, because often times we haven't dealt with hurt from our past that causes problems in our present relationships. There may be unforgiveness, fear, rejection, etc. lingering in your heart and mind that God wants you to be free from so that you can connect with him and so that you can love your spouse fully. I would encourage anyone who is married or not to ask God to reveal to them the issues they haven't dealt with or maybe you already know what those are and, like me, it just hurts too much for you to want to dig them back up. Learn from my experience and decide today to communicate your hurts, allow God to speak to you about them, forgive if necessary and let His healing love restore you. Until next week! Many many Blessings, Laura.