Woman Evolve with Sarah Jakes Roberts - Take Healing Seriously w/ Laura Lentz
Episode Date: November 6, 2024To kick things off this week, SJR brings us up to speed with what’s going on in her personal life! Followed by a heartfelt advice question that hit our line to hold space for grief. You see, it’s ...only in the rawness of hurt and healing that W.E. learn the true power of surrender. In this two-part episode, listeners will hear from Laura Lentz — a life coach, entrepreneur, speaker, interior designer, and prominent figure in ministry. After handling a public scandal so privately, two hot topics were on everyone's mind: WHY come out of hiding and WHY stay in the marriage? Listen up to learn how Laura withstood infidelity, went into full-on mom mode to heal her family, and navigated a cycle of church hurt.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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You may not have the friends, you may not have the partner,
but I just want you to know that just because you don't have them doesn't mean that you don't have God.
Take that moment and receive God's love for you.
And then ask God what's next.
Our whole life was the church, our whole life was ministry,
and so when this happened, I was angry at God for a really long time.
I refused to be angry and bitter.
I just didn't want that to stay in my heart forever.
We are back with another episode of the Womany Ball podcast.
I am your host, Sarah Jakes Roberts.
And let's see, it's Monday and I'm going to start preparing for this.
I'm not always trying to figure out what's going on with my life as soon as you pick
up the phone.
So ghetto.
But I am my husband. It's November, okay, boom.
My husband and I celebrate 10 years of marriage this month,
which I am really excited about.
This is airing probably after the election.
I have no idea who has won.
I'm stressed.
I'm so stressed because I feel like either way,
I feel like no one's going to be
a solution to all of the issues we face in the world.
My husband preached a message on Sunday at the Potter's House Dallas called On Your Marks,
Get Ready, Set, Go.
On Your Marks, Ready, Set, Go.
And the message was ultimately about how it is the responsibility of the kingdom to really
respond to the crisis we see in the world, not to elect one person to carry responsibility of the kingdom to really respond to the crisis we see in the world not to elect one
Person to carry all of the weight and yet this has been the most divisive
Election that I think we've seen in our nation. Obviously my lifespan is short in the context of how long
America has been established, but I think everyone has acknowledged just how divisive
it is.
And so my prayer is that regardless of who is in office, by the time you're hearing this,
that you are in your office, that you are seated squarely at the desk of your destiny,
and that you are in full recognition that destiny is not just what you do, but who you
are willing to become.
I pray that you are resisting any temptations, inclinations that draw you away from God,
that you are actively attacking anything that stands in the way of your connection with
God and that in exchange that God is allowing you to carry his light, his word, his creativity, his plans for wherever
you are into all that you do.
So I'm praying and I am looking forward to how we settle into whatever this new normal
is going to be.
I have had, I had a good weekend.
I, oh my goodness.
So I took an exam in class in one of my classes
and I spent more time stressing and studying for the exam
than the actual exam was hard.
Saturday, I got to a point where I was like,
listen, I have until Sunday at midnight to take this test.
And I'm not gonna know any more than I know right now.
Like I've done all the studying that I can do.
There's still some material
that just is not clicking for me.
I've watched YouTube me. I've watched
YouTube videos. I've looked it up on TikTok. I understand as much as I can possibly understand
about this subject matter. I'm going to take the test and see what happens. I took the test. I don't
know what I got on it, but what I will say is that stressing over the test, studying for the test was
harder than actually taking the test. I'm not saying by no means that I knew every single answer.
There were 70 questions, but I felt pretty confident about how I did.
I have an A in that class and I'm trying also not to put the same pressure on myself to
perform well, but to really be okay with taking my time and just giving what I have and learning.
So yeah, that was my weekend.
Ella's in cheer, so we have basketball games, Kenzie's in
driver's ed.
We did community. Oh, my goodness.
We had a family communion.
So one of the things that
was, I
think, an unspoken prayer that
God answered in the existence
of my husband is just an
at home spiritual covering
and leadership for our
children. Though I am a preacher, though I've been blessed to share the revelation of who
God has been in my life and who I believe God can be in the lives of other people, I
actually feel pretty shy about my relationship with God. I think a lot of it has to do with
like not really being validated or affirmed in my younger years,
but still having this relationship with God be cultivated
that I felt like only I would understand.
And so I am learning to be just more open
about my relationship with God, just like on a casual level.
This is not an issue that my husband possesses.
My husband will be like walking around the house, like he'll just be talking regularly and then just like start
speaking in tongues or like he just he does not his issue. So anyways, we have family
communion and we all take the time to talk about like how our relationship with God is
how we are doing. And then we take communion and we break anything that we know has been broken on the
cross and we receive the wholeness of Jesus and the new covenant and being in relationship
with the Lord.
And my husband says something during communion that really stuck with me.
And we're constantly explaining communion to Ella because as she grows and learns, she
can understand it more and more in a deeper manner.
And so my husband was telling her, like, she knows Jesus died on the cross for her sins.
And my husband goes, sin is not what you did.
It's what's in you that made you do it.
And when my husband said that, I think I know this, but there was something about the sin
isn't necessarily what you did.
And I think this is really important because if we only make sin about what you do when
Jesus says, you know, in the scripture, like I say, if you commit adultery in your mind,
that's the sin.
It's what's inside of you that produces this sin that needs to be acknowledged.
And Jesus came so that what's inside of you could be healed so that you don't continue
to do the same actions over and over again.
And that really blessed me. Man, and I think it's going to really, really lay a beautiful foundation for this episode.
But when we don't acknowledge what's happening inside of us, we can do all that we can to, you know, cognitively change what we're doing. But until we have a new mindset, until we have repented
and really changed the way that we show up in the world,
we may stop that behavior and exchange it for another.
And so the humility to constantly ask God like David
to search my heart.
David was so far in sin that he didn't even realize
how off track he was until someone presented his life before him.
And that can happen to all of us where we just end up in a situation where we are someone that we don't even recognize.
And so taking the time to really ask God, who am I? What's inside of me that could produce sin, that keeps me away
from you, that distances me. I did this in my own prayer time over the weekend and PT's
message on Sunday just really reiterated what I felt in my prayer time. But I feel like
one of the things that God is highlighting for me is offense. We have led a lot of people
through our different teams through the book by John Bavir, The
Bait of Satan, and it's ultimately about offense.
And I've been nursing a few wounds that I've been triggered lately by different things
that have happened.
And I can feel myself pulling back.
I can feel myself being distrusting, being more insecure, and being accepting of that.
Just feeling safe within this double checking, being double minded.
Oh, that's ugly, but I can feel myself shutting down.
And so I started praying into those areas of offense
and praying for those people who I feel have offended me
or hurt me in some way.
And the bait of Satan talks all about this.
And so I don't know why I was saying this,
but at the end of the day,
and PT's message leading into that,
I just want my heart to be pure before God.
I want to see myself the way that
God sees me. And I want God to have full capacity and full residency in my life. And I realized
that if I like put some yellow tape around one specific area, yellow tape and say, do
not enter, that I'm not just keeping people out, but I'm keeping the presence of God out as well. And so I am leaning into healing in that way.
You've minding my business.
Let me mind yours.
This week's question is so good.
Let me play it for you and then let's get into it.
Hey Sarah, I really need your advice.
So my dad passed away when I was 13 years old and here I am seven years later at 21,
still in the grieving process.
And the thing is, it's hard for me to find joy
and excitement about being a teenager
and allow myself to take the man on the inside
because he isn't physically here to witness me.
During the Paramore's Boots Tour,
I was involved in the launching
and I remember when we were all on Zoom
and everyone shared their thoughts
I wanted to read a part that really stood out to me, but I was too shy to do so
But in the book it said you feel trapped inside your life regardless of how many things you feel for joy
And then in the middle of your most recent assignment you said there can be so much weight on you that it won't feel like success
And a win doesn't always feel like a win.
And ever since I've graduated from high school and since I didn't acknowledge it back when I had the chance,
it keeps re-planning my head through this day and you keep reading my mail.
But on March 2nd of 2025, I'll be graduating college as a first-gen graduate,
first daughter of my mom's four girls, and the second
granddaughter of my grandmother's eleven grandchildren. And yes, I'm so full of
joy because God has been with me all along the way, and I know I'm never wrong,
but it's so hard trying to get through grief and anxiety and the fact that
literally everyone is counting on me. When I graduated high school, I was so
happy for the day to come, only for the day to arrive, and anxiety hit me. When I graduated high school, I was so happy for the day to come,
only for the day to arrive,
and anxiety hit me so hard,
I could barely walk out onto the field
without thinking about my dad.
My entire body was shaking,
and I feel like as happy as I am
about graduating college,
even though I have so much support,
and so many smiling faces surrounding me,
on the outside I'd be smiling too,
but on the inside I'd be torn
about my dad and when the day comes I feel like the hurt and pain is gonna
keep me all over again. I often still have big breakdowns and I feel
relieved but it's like I live in a moment of happiness just at this time and I'm
more than proud of myself for sure for being emotional to me and I think it's
because I haven't taken the time to sit and grieve at all.
Because when one thing is done,
I was looking for another thing to accomplish.
And it's like if I sit too long, I get stuck.
And maybe I should try one brief therapy
because in a way, it should be fulfilling
a joint successful moment.
But then I'm like, I'm not such an open person.
But here I am telling you and I don't even know you in person, but I know you're in my head.
And it's like you just get us.
And I don't know.
Come back, I may have an update.
But thank you so much.
Sorry that this is long, but I hope that you're able to give me any advice
and anything that you think may be beneficial to me.
And by the way, we love being.
Love you, Sal.
Bye.
There's a lot I like about this question
because it speaks to us having achievement addiction.
I wanna first of all say that I'm sorry for your loss.
I know that on paper,
it seems like it's something that happened a long time ago,
but one thing that Dr. Anita shared about grief that has always stuck with me
Is that part of the reason why grief feels like such a long process is because each time we have a new
Experience where we wanted that person there or that person should have been there in our estimation
It's losing them all over again, because you're losing the fact
that they're not present in that moment,
even though you know that they've been gone for some time
as you experience new life.
I mean, because we're always thinking ahead, right?
And we're always thinking about that moment when we get married,
that moment when we graduate,
that moment when we have children.
And when that person isn't in those moments
the way that we imagine they would be, we have to grieve the reality of standing in a
moment where we thought that person would be there. I like that you mentioned
you don't know whether or not you should get therapy. I think whenever we start
wondering whether or not we should get therapy it's probably time for us at
least to start you know asking God and leaning into the possibility that
there's something that's
my father would say kicking up underneath that blanket that we should probably acknowledge.
I will tell you that I had a hard time and I've shared this.
I've had a hard time settling into big moments, into successful moments.
And I really had to ask myself a few questions that I hope that you'll ask yourself as well.
The first thing I want you to ask yourself is if I settled into this moment, if I allowed myself to be fully present
instead of moving on to the next thing, what do I
imagine I would feel or what do I think I should be feeling in this moment? I should be so happy
I'm bursting at the seams.
I should be so excited that there's a smile all over my face.
What is it that you think you should be feeling right now?
And then the second thing I would ask is what's keeping you from feeling it?
And just whatever comes to mind, don't make this hard.
When I ask myself these questions, I'll say the first thing that comes to mind is like,
you don't deserve it.
You aren't good enough.
You didn't earn it or it really wasn't that good.
There's still so much more for you to do that you can't be excited or celebrate this moment.
Answer that question. And then I think you have to be willing to ask yourself
whether or not you have a realistic,
I want to say this right,
I want you to ask yourself whether or not you have
a realistic perspective of your journey.
I want you to ask yourself,
do you have an insatiable need to achieve, achieve, achieve
because you don't feel worthy,
which means you're never gonna have that feeling
that you wanna have because nothing's gonna be enough.
And I'm not saying that this is your problem,
but if it's like my problem,
the answer would be no, that because this bottomless
pit of brokenness that exists inside of me will never allow me to feel safe or happy
or joy. I have to lean into who I know God says I am and to receive the good things that
happen in my life as an extension of God's love and generosity towards me. And maybe instead of feeling the ego boost, the confidence in your achievement,
maybe instead what you need to feel is the love and generosity of God
allowing you to experience moments that you didn't feel like you were worthy of.
And maybe where you're hoping for celebration instead you have worship and
then maybe from the place of worship you have joy. I think that there are certain
personality types, certain people who have had experiences that keep them from
being as bold and audacious as other people when they achieve because we are questioning
or wondering or insecure and yet God keeps showing up in our lives.
And I think to receive these moments as a gift from God, it changes our ability to lean
into them that God said, even though you don't have your father, I am going to bless you
and guide you and steer you and equip you and deposit within you skills and sensitivities
and creativity.
I'm going to be your father and I want you to celebrate those moments with me.
Your earthly father may not be here and if someone's listening you may not have the friends,
you may not have the partner, you may not have the familial relationships that would make this
moment sweet, but I just want you to know that just because you don't have them doesn't mean that
you don't have God. That God wants to celebrate these moments with you and so instead of just
looking for the next thing to achieve because you don't have anyone to rest in the celebration with or the person that you
want to rest in the celebration with I would challenge you to take a moment and
to receive God's love, God's generosity and to celebrate it and acknowledge it
and have some cake or you know, froyo, whatever your get down is,
some broccoli with a candle, like whatever your thing is,
like take that moment and receive God's love for you.
And then ask God what's next.
You don't get to set your own agenda,
but to say, God, what's next?
And sometimes God will say just this,
just rest, just celebration,
just me lavishing my love on you,
and then God may say, I need you to take this class
because I need you to do this thing in the world
like he's doing with me right now.
But I hope that you'll celebrate with God
when you can't celebrate with anyone else.
Evolve.
Part of the reason why I felt like the beginning part of this podcast was laying a foundation for the conversation that we're going to have is because oftentimes we don't always know
what's inside of us until we're standing in the mess of
the sin that we did because we didn't acknowledge the sin inside of us.
And all of us have sinned, right?
And my sin right now is holding my heart back and being judgmental when I should be prayerful. And yet there are some sins that are not just in us,
they start showing up in the way that we treat other people,
in the way that we hide,
in the way that we may manipulate,
or in the case of this conversation we're about to have,
in the way that we impacts others through
infidelity.
Now, there's a few things I want to say as it relates to this conversation about infidelity.
I have been cheated on and I have been the girl that I knew someone was cheating with
knowingly.
Like it wasn't nobody duped me, I knew.
And a lot of times we have a lot of conversations about being cheated on, but very few conversations
about being the one that someone cheated with or doing the cheating ourselves.
And what I know now that I didn't know then is I could not have cared less about the person
whose actions or whose heart rather was being impacted by my actions
because I was so desperate for attention, so desperate to be seen, so desperate to feel
worthy and validated that I didn't mind reducing someone else's worth. I didn't have any standards
and as a result I experienced a lot of heartbreak.
You know, how you get them is how you lose them.
Or, you know, what, is that what they say?
How you get them, how you lose them,
how you keep them, how you catch them,
how you forget them is how I forgot it.
But I want to say that because having these conversations
can be really interesting,
especially when it comes from a person of faith and a person of leadership in faith.
And though I'm not speaking with Carl Lentz today, I did have the opportunity to speak
with his wife, Laura Lentz. And one of the things that I enjoy about their journey is that I think that I have witnessed
and you'll learn that I don't know them personally.
So I've been on the outside looking in, in many ways, but there has been courageous accountability
that I don't think that we've ever seen a leader in faith take for
actions that are not just painful for their family and immediate family, but painful for those who
have been inspired and impacted by their ministry. Conversations like this are very,
I think nuanced because on one hand, I realized that as a leader in faith that we're human and that we're going to make mistakes.
And if we're doing this right, we're leading people to God and not to us.
I also believe that there is probably several things that we could be doing better as leaders
to make sure we don't end up in these situations.
Being human is not a license to do whatever. And I think that that
reality,
that truth,
it comes to too many of us too late. I try to be very careful. When we first heard the news of Carl Lentz and
Laura Lentz and Laura Lentz.
My husband and I are not like, oh my gosh, this could never happen to me.
But really God, like how could this happen to me?
Show me ways and patterns that may exist in my life now that may lead me to making some
choices that really perhaps bring a shadow to the divine work that I've done or brings pain
to other people.
I wanted to say that because this is a vulnerable conversation about intimate subject matter.
And I wanted to one, make sure that you all know that I wanted to handle Laura's heart with care and that I wasn't
coming from a place of judgment.
And I also wanted to ask her some questions about their journey, their healing process.
Many times when we have conversations about infidelity, I'll be honest, I left after experiencing
a series of infidelities and yet there are people who are able to rebuild
their lives and marriages after infidelity,
but I think it takes a lot of honesty,
a lot of accountability.
And one of the things that I admire
about the Lynch journey is that they took time away.
They were not so consumed with trying to fix
their public image that they didn't focus
on their private life.
And having come on the other side
of taking care of their private life. And having come on the other side of taking care
of their private life, they're beginning to share with us
and the world, many of the steps that led them
to a place of recovery and of healing.
And I think it's a conversation that's worthy
of everyone hearing.
I follow Laura on Instagram.
I don't think I started following her
until everything popped off, mainly because
it was during the pandemic, I mind other people's business
and I just wanted her to know, like,
I was liking posts, like, girl, I hope you all right.
Like, girl, how you doing?
Didn't know her, but I just wanted that like,
like, I don't know what I thought liking a post
was going to do, but I just wanted her to know,
like, girl, how are you?
What's happening?
Laura Lentz is a dynamic life coach, entrepreneur, speaker, and interior designer with over 20 years
of experience in ministry. She's passionate about empowering women. Laura finds immense joy in
helping them discover their unique voices and unlock their full potential. Her husband, Carl,
and three kids look to her as the rock in the family. They also love making fun of her Australian accent, which you're going to hear on this
conversation.
I am looking forward to you guys just getting to know her as I get to know her through this
conversation.
I left, one, this is going to be a two part series, but I left feeling like she's a woman who has immense strength,
who has experienced heartbreak,
and who has recognized that there is not just healing,
but joy on the other side of it.
And I'm just grateful that she shares her heart
and her story with us,
and I can't wait for you to experience it.
So let's get into it.
I feel like this is going to be a really good conversation
because you know, you have given the world permission
to mind your business and all I like to do
is mind other people's business.
And so now I just feel like, how are you doing?
Like your world has played out in front of many of our lives.
And yet, you know, I think you guys,
it seems from the outside looking in
that you guys like took a season,
had some private time for yourself,
and now you're like outside again.
How does it feel to be outside again?
It's been a little bit of a mix of emotion
because we did go into hiding for gosh,
it's gonna be four years next week
since, you week since my world
kind of crashed.
It was really nice to have that time in our own space, our little circle, our family.
So now being out and everyone now knowing the other side of our story and where we've,
you know, some of the things that we've gone through on this side, it's actually being
quite a healing thing for me and for Carl and for our kids too, I think, just being
able to share our side when there was so much said, you know, in the beginning of what happened
and being able to share our journey on the other side of this has been really nice.
So it's been good.
And I think knowing that we've helped, you know, many people just being able to tell
our story and share our story a little bit gives me hope.
Okay, so we've seen different things happen for people who are in ministry.
And I feel like you all have handled it. I just feel with like so much grace and so much truth and accountability.
Whereas most people may have possibly decided instead of going and hiding to like defend
themselves or to tell their side of their story immediately.
Like how did you all know that this was not a time to defend yourself? This
was not a time to let things play out publicly with your perspective as a part of the conversation.
Because I feel like there's no playbook for how to handle something like this. And yet
I feel like making the choices that you know what, we're out and we're going to be people
before we're images. Like I just don't feel like making the choice to say, you know what, we're out and we're gonna be people before we're images.
Like, I just don't feel like that happens often.
Yeah, I think for us, it was just so important.
And especially for Carl, he felt it was really important
for him just to focus on his healing and his, you know,
himself.
He had so much things that he had to work out and break down
and try and get to the bottom of and
You know he went straight from
you know him telling what had happened in that I think it was a
Instagram post or something he put up publicly and then
Just that was it. He went into hiding. He went and got therapy. He went to intensives
He went to you, he went and got therapy, he went to intensives, he went to, you know, a rehab, we moved, we moved states quite a few times. And we just, we
just really felt like it was more important for our family to heal. And we wanted to,
you know, take that time for us because at the end of the day, the world and the church as much as, you know, it was our whole life.
You know, we always say, I would give all of this, a lot of people say it in the show, I would give everything up.
Yeah, until it happens to you and you're like, oh crap, now what are we going to do?
You know, so thankfully we had some really great people around us that were a really safe space for
us.
And so we were able to take that time just to get out of the spotlight, so to speak,
and just really focus on our family and each other.
Now, I know you all have a podcast and you all have talked about everything that has
happened kind of like more in detail than we'll ever get into on this podcast.
But you mentioned that like he went and got some help.
He got the support that he needed so that you all could do what you needed to do within
your family.
Like what's happening for you during this time?
Like, you know, when I was in a situation in my first marriage where I experienced infidelity
and it wasn't as public as what you experienced, you know, like I almost went to prison and
yet here you are, your skin is glowing.
The cheekbones are very high and lifted up.
They're like giving God a praise, you know what I mean?
Like you got joy.
Even I've, you know, I've been following you on Instagram and like I saw you when you're
doing your DIY stuff.
My girl was very much so giving like, I'm still here.
I'm still alive.
And so I'm just wondering like, what was this process like for you?
You know, I think people see now that I am this like glowing and happy and like, but in the beginning I was so lost.
I was so broken. Our whole life was the church, our whole life was ministry. And so when this
happened and there was a lot of, there was a few other things that were going on in our
family at the same time. I think we talk about it with our daughter and all of this stuff that happened a month earlier
where she ended up going to a hospital,
a teen hospital for eight weeks.
And so it was just a lot of just pain
and brokenness happening.
And then, you know, this happened and I just lost it.
Like I was just like completely broken.
And it was one friend that I remember, he just kept reminding
me, he loves you, Carl loves you, Jesus loves you, like you are going to get through this,
this is going to be okay. But there was just days I couldn't get out of bed, you know,
there was days where I was just, I didn't know where to look, where to turn, I didn't
know who I could trust, you know, there was, and I didn't know who I could trust. I had so much anxiety
because it was so public. I never knew what that next wave of story was going to be. It
was really tough. It wasn't until we went to California for a little bit and I felt
like I could breathe. I was in mom mode. I was in mom mode, you know, I was in like,
let's just get through this, let's just push through.
And then he went to rehab and I did Christmas by myself that first year was just me and
the three kids like it was it was really hard.
Like it wasn't it hasn't been easy, you know, but I just had really great support.
Our family was incredible and the people that
we had in our life at the time were just perfect for what I needed. I felt like I needed more,
but I had everything I needed and I had everyone I needed and I had God, you know, that was
the only thing that got me through, honestly. And at the time, I didn't feel like it because I was, again, because it all happened
with church family, I was angry at God for a really long time. And it took me probably
two and a half years to even be able to verbalize that feeling of what that was.
And the walls I had up even going into church and standing in a service
was just, I could feel the anxiety up in my neck. Like I would just stand stiff in a service
because everything just reminded me or triggered me or like just made me mad. And it was a
really, really, I would not wish it on anyone. And you know, being in that same situation,
like with infidelity, you don't know until you know.
Like there's just no way to explain it to someone
that hasn't gone through it.
No one will understand unless they've gone through it.
And I pray that no one has to, you know,
cause it is, it is the most, it absolutely crushes
your whole person.
And so it takes a lot to come back from that. So I just went into once he, once we got to California and I knew everyone was kind of
settled a little bit, I went, I went to an on-site intensive and I just like dug in deep
and I did like, it was a four four day intensive but they say it's like
Five years of therapy in four days. So it's it's a lot. So I was just like I
Just wanted to I refused to be angry and hurt and bitter
I just didn't want that to stay in my heart forever. And so I worked really hard at
Just doing that hard work and feeling all the feelings
and doing all the stuff they say you have to do.
And I did that, you know, and I feel like because I did so much of that, I'm able to
stand on this side and feel like my skin is glowing, you know?
It's like, okay, I can do those hard things.
But yeah, in the moment, it's awful. It's weird because you're like in this crossfire, this intersection of experiencing church hurt,
but also being in church leadership and because of everything that happened, being someone
else's association with church hurt.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
What is that like?
You want to defend yourself.
You want to defend your church.
You want to defend everything.
That's the first initial feeling, I think, is like, no, like we're good people, you know, like.
But then you understand on the other side that people are broken and we are just humans and we get put in this space, intentional or not,
it's like you get put at a higher level of what, you know, I don't know if it's necessarily healthy,
but it just is how it is in church, you know, and so I think us being able to take responsibility for us being, especially him being the one
that caused so much hurt for people in the church, that's all we could do is take that
responsibility and apologize for whoever felt that way because we understood that because
we felt that way as well.
Like we were hurt by the people that we loved in church. And so it's been like this beautiful
moment of being able to experience what church hurt, I hate that phrase, but you know, church
hurt is, but also being like, okay, understanding that people are human and we can move on from
it. And I don't, I hate that people feel like they get stuck in that space of church hurt, you know,
because I feel like that it's kind of unfair. Like you don't go to, you don't stop going to
a restaurant just because the pizza sucked. Like you, you know, you'll keep going or you'll go to
a different place or whatever. So I just feel like church is the same way. Find a place that
you feel is safe and, you know, the leadership is great and do that. Like be in a place that you feel is safe and the leadership is great and do that.
Be in a place where you can heal and you can fix that church hurt.
I just feel it's not fair to stay in a place of hurt.
Church hurt or otherwise.
Yeah. I think there's this whenever a pastor is going through something or a Christian public
figure or whatever is going through something, I think that when you are also a pastor, you're
also someone who has influence.
I think that there's this like perspective that we can take.
And one is like, oh, that would never happen to me.
I would never do anything like that.
And then I think a more wise perspective is like,
how could that happen to me?
You know what I mean?
Like, it's so easy to think that certain things
would never happen to you,
but I think it takes a certain level of humility to see what is in me, what is in this world, what's in
this pace, what's in this pressure, this rhythm that can exploit something that a vulnerability
that I have, a weakness, a proclivity that I have that could produce a similar result. And I feel like I have kind of learned
to look at these situations in that way,
like what is in me that could produce that outcome
and what can I do now to learn
from the experiences of others?
And so I think that that's kind of the lens
in which we looked at things when we heard
about them.
And then I just pooch out when you talk about them headline after headline, I was like,
if it's Lord Jesus, I know, I think especially for you as a woman, I'm like, if y'all could
please, I didn't even know her, but I'm like, it felt like me defending Eve.
It was like, if y'all could just give my girl one minute to take a breath.
If y'all could just give her a chill, dang. But I was glad to see you doing things like
hanging curtains and trying to mount the television.
I had to do things that just kept like, I just I found myself keeping busy, you know,
as well, because it was it, it was such an awful,
it was probably that first six months that was the worst.
It was just like wave after wave of like,
I was just getting hit with stuff.
I'm like, can I just take a, can I just take a break?
Can they just leave us alone?
Like, why do people, and you forget,
I think we just, I forgot how how much how much influence I guess, or how much
our life meant to people. I
know, because I'll be honest, even I was like, are they really
this famous? Like I didn't like I mean, we're everywhere. It was
ridiculous. It really was ridiculous. And then also with, I guess, because
of the celebrity thing, like Celebrity Church and all of that stuff, the celebrity pastor,
which I just hate. I hate all of that. But and then certain people being brought up,
which is what it was. Like it was certain celebrities that were brought into his name
every time. It was like Justin Bieber's possible, but it's like, just leave it.
Like, we're not even that's not we're not even his pasta.
You know, like all of that.
So it's just the media's way of it's clickbait, you know, and I just hated it.
I hated all of it.
Do you feel like you hated it in the moment, like before everything broke out?
Like, did you hate it when it was happening
or did you learn to hate it
once you saw the other side of it?
Oh, that's a good question.
No, I think I hated all of it.
Like, just.
Just.
The whole thing.
I just wanted.
The whole, I hated the whole thing.
Like, I just wanted to be left alone.
And I think because Carl had taken such a position of humility
and just wanting to fix himself, like he had apologized
right at the beginning.
He did what he had to do, what he was asked to do.
And then we felt like we just had taken a step back.
So then when
there was interviews happening and all of that stuff, I was like, can you just like,
just leave us alone? Like, because we knew that we weren't going to say anything, but
gosh, it was hard. It was really hard not to defend ourselves. But at the same time,
we, we were okay, like, especially him, him, because he'd done so much work on himself.
He was just like, he didn't even think twice about any of it.
You know, so it was, I think it was harder for my kids, because they're older.
You know, I've got teenagers, I've got two grown girls now.
And so for them, it was really hard to see all of that in the media.
And I think people forget that.
Christians forget that.
There's a family on the other side of this situation.
So yeah, that was tough.
Okay, so why come out of hiding?
Like you finally got away, they finally stopped talking.
You could finally be like, you know what?
Oh, we can have a normal life.
Maybe it's different than what we anticipated,
but at least people aren't in our business,
like why come back?
I think we felt an obligation to tell our story,
to get to a place where,
cause we had done so much work to heal
and you don't see that very often.
Like you said in the beginning,
like it's either it's hidden, no
one talks about it and then they just come back on a Sunday and they're preaching again
or it's hidden and it's just never talked about at all. So for us, we felt like we had
an obligation because it was so public. Well, let's tell our side, let's talk about the
crap we've gone through
that it hasn't been easy and that you can do the work. You can get healing from a broken
place in a marriage. I think so many times and in the church as well, like in fidelity,
it's like you're done. And it should be. A lot of times it should be, depending on how the responses
of either party plays it. And so for us, I think with our stance on everything and the
way we dealt with stuff, we just felt like, and the amount of people that would reach
out to us, DMs and all that kind of stuff. You saw how, how many people were in the same boat as us and had no help.
They had nowhere to go.
They had no idea what to do next.
They just felt lost.
And so for us, we just felt like we could help.
Okay.
I feel like I asked you that question prematurely because what I should have
asked you first, instead of why did you come out of hiding is like, girl, why did that question prematurely because what I should have asked
you first instead of why did you come out of hiding is like, girl, why did we stay?
You know what I mean?
Like was leaving ever an option?
Absolutely.
Okay.
Because some people go through it and they're like, you know, oh no, I was never going to
leave.
And then I think there's something to be said of like everything was on the table.
You know what I mean?
I definitely was leaving. But you know, this happened that happened. Can we talk a little bit? When I
was doing a woman evolve, we have these intimate meet and greets. And this lady asked me, she
said that her and her husband were going through a divorce that he'd had. They'd experienced
an infidelity. She wasn't clear who did what,
but she was believing God for their marriage still.
And she wanted to know if I could give her any advice.
And I was like, I can't give you any advice for that.
Cause in my first marriage, you know, I dipped.
It wasn't a one-time thing.
It was many times, but like I didn't stay.
But there are marriages that experience infidelity, whether it's a one off or many times,
and yet they are able to experience restoration in the marriage. And so I should have asked you like,
why did we stay?
You know, back when I would hear people go through infidelity in ministry, I was like, oh,
I would never stay. I was that person. I. I was like, oh, I would never stay.
I was that person.
I was like, I would never stay.
And then when it happens to you, I think everything is just,
you just don't know.
You don't know.
And so for me, I had a few things that I had to go off, like if I would stay or not.
And the way that there was things in his life and his childhood that I learned that I had
never seen or heard of from him before.
And I remember one time it was the first week that we had gone, you know, that everything
had come out for me.
And he was on the phone with a therapist and she was asking him some questions about his
childhood.
And I had never seen him break down and cry like he did.
It was like from his gut.
Like there was just this pain and he couldn't even get the words out of what had happened.
Like he couldn't get it out. And it was at that moment I felt like, oh, there is
more reason behind this, this, like what he's gone through and what he's done in
our marriage. There is reasons behind it and I will stay, I want to stay and help him with that and it wasn't
like a codependent thing at that time it was just like I just understood I just
saw this it was like a compassion empathy side of me that was like oh
there is more to this than just like other there was another person in the
marriage you know like there was just this, this brokenness in him. And then also him doing the work, which people like, what's the work that he was doing? And it's
just him, like from the moment that it happened, he was on the phone to people like Bob Goff,
he was on the phone to some of our closest friends, he was on the phone to people from on site,
closest friends, he was on the phone to people from on-site trying to get into therapy, like all of these things, he was actively wanting to help himself and fix himself. And I think
that was the difference for me was seeing that in him. And it's still to this day, like,
if he stops doing any of the work he's supposed to do in that consistency that I see him doing every day, if I don't see that, that's a red flag
for me.
Yeah.
And so that's one of the things that we, you know, have talked about from the very beginning.
So that's been something.
And then I know that there's people that don't have that in a relationship.
And it's like, the guy is just, he's just continue to do what he's going to do.
That's when you that's when you run, you know, and so for me, that was the the reasoning behind it
is why I stayed is because there was just so much brokenness in him that he didn't even understand.
And so being with him seeing him work through some of that was, it was pretty shocking.
I could see too, not only that revelation, but the way that everything and everyone,
not everyone, because there were people who you mentioned were there for you, but the
way that everything turned so quickly, like I could kind of see it being like you guys
were all you had in this whirlwind too.
Like, you know, stay right now we're fight or flight, we're just trying to survive.
I can't even make a decision about this marriage.
And then to see that brokenness, I think that God gave you a capacity to stay and be resilient
and loving and to show God's love towards him, who knows? And with that level of vitriol and that level of, you know,
betrayal and accountability happening at the same time,
who knows how differently your story could have played out.
I think it's, what were you gonna say?
Yeah, no, I was gonna agree with you
because it could have gone in a very different way, you know?
And we were very alone. I felt
very alone. I had one friend that had gone through infidelity that I knew of, and she was there for
me just saying, it's going to get better, that pain is going to go. And just giving me this
little glimpses of hope of what it could be, because when you're in it, I was like, this is
giving me this little glimpses of hope of what it could be because when you're in it, I was like, this is the like, this is never going to leave. Like, I'm never going to stop having these
emotions and these feelings. And how will I ever look at him the same and all of those things?
It's also real, you know? And so I do believe that God gave me a strength to get through it.
And there were days where I couldn't get through it, you know, and I would just go with that
too.
Like I would just lay in my bed some days.
I didn't do anything.
So yeah, it's just, it's the hardest thing that you have to go through.
And like, I don't, the worst thing for me is when people respond or say like like I'm staying in my marriage because you did and well and
I'm like no, but that's why we try to like tell our side of like if he's not doing the work or you know
Whatever like you gotta go
So I never wanted people to think that I was just like rolling over and taking whatever
Was you know that was never the case?
whatever was, you know, that was never the case.
So and he knew that, you know, so that was the other reason why we felt like we needed to tell our story and outside.
You all just posted a clip that I think speaks to the reality of someone
being willing to do the work.
And Carl's talking about how your books were all about the house,
like how to survive betrayal and what to do when your husband's an idiot,
like all over the house.
And I just want to tell you,
I'm gonna send you some flowers for this
because what we're not gonna do
is being embarrassed out loud and heal silently.
No, we're gonna heal out loud.
Exactly.
And that was the thing for me.
I was like, I want you to know that I'm doing my work
and to be reminded of what you did.
I wish I didn't have to read the book.
The least you could do is see it.
I wish I didn't have to read the book.
Exactly.
It's like, God.
Yep.
I cannot wait to pick up this conversation next week with Laura Lentz and to talk a little
bit more about some of the lessons that she has learned and discovered throughout this
journey.
I feel like the theme of this episode though, whether it's me sharing with you what God
is showing me and my walk with the Lord or even the mind your business question
is that we have to take healing seriously.
That we can't become locked in our own hurt,
justifications or our whatever we're doing
to anesthetize the pain.
That there are some things that we shouldn't be numb from
because it's making us numb from everything.
And so my prayer, before we close out,
is going to be for those of you who need
to take your healing seriously.
And so God, I'm praying a dangerous prayer,
a prayer that many of us don't pray
because we know it's gonna hurt.
And yet you promise that you'll never leave us
nor forsake us and that means even in the painful moments.
So God, I am asking that you would highlight the area
where we're hurting but numb, where we're hurting
but achieving on top of it, where we're hurting but achieving on top of it, where we're hurting
and building walls because of it, so that we may experience freedom, a real freedom
to feel everything, good and bad, that we would be like Jesus in the garden, and agony
that we would dare to be like Jesus crying over Lazarus and allow
ourselves to weep, that we would let pain be pain so that healing can be healing.
God, I thank you for not just leaving us in a state of our own mess, for not just leaving
us to face things on our own, but literally sending your Holy Spirit to comfort us.
And so God, I'm praying that the Holy Spirit would meet us in those hurting places, that
the Holy Spirit would comfort us, that the Holy Spirit would bring reconciliation, that
the Holy Spirit would bring wisdom, guidance, love and peace in the area where we don't
want to feel anything at all.
I thank you God for divine restoration.
I thank you God for divine healing.
In Jesus name I pray.
Amen.
I'll see you next week.
Evolve.