How do you summarize a life-changing journey? Several of our ladies at Grace, including myself, bravely took this journey this past year. Most of them participated in a Walking Worthy class here at our church building. A couple of us who needed a different time participated in another WW class at Woodland Park, and some of our men participated in a men’s Walking Worthy group. Some of these ladies have contributed their thoughts to this article, and one lady succinctly summarizes, “Walking Worthy has helped me understand my past and how it affects my present so I can have a better future in and with Christ and walk in freedom.” I can’t say it any better than that, but perhaps I can flesh it out for any of you who are potentially interested or don’t even know it is what you need. I would like to do this by telling a bit about my story.
Through the first half of last year, I became aware that I was not thriving but more surviving life. Some of the weaknesses that I had always coped with seemed to be taking over my life, and I felt like I couldn’t get it together. A large part of these weaknesses were poor ways of coping with grief that had resurfaced and grown stronger as I dealt with my miscarriages. Years ago, I had previously been through a couple of shorter, somewhat similar processes to Walking Worthy, and I had a feeling it might help surface and deal with these issues that I didn’t seem to know how to ‘fix.’
So, I talked to Ben about it and signed up. I walked into a roomful of women I didn’t know except one and knew that we would be sharing our lives and hearts. I saw a variety of emotions on their faces including nervousness and hopefulness. Even though I love getting to know people deeply and long to be real, it is still intimidating, but I relied on my previous experiences to remember that it is well worth it.
Sure enough, this group of ladies became a safe haven every week for 26 weeks. When the process was over, we didn’t want it to end, so we have been meeting twice a month (as many as are able). We have a group text in which we send each other our prayer requests and check up on each other. I am blessed to know that I can share anything with this group and to know it will be kept confidential and will be received with love and encouragement, not judgment.
So what did we study for 26 weeks, you may wonder? Walking Worthy curriculum covers many of the key difficulties in life, including understanding your family of origin, dealing with trauma, healing and dealing with difficult relationships, shame versus guilt, depression, rejection, communication, forgiveness, addiction, marriage and family relationships, and much more. There is also wonderful information on how the brain works, and most importantly of all, everything is undergirded by Scripture. I love the way one woman describes her journey with WW:
“Through Walking Worthy I have experienced God giving me the gift of awareness and the ability to name and identify wounds, emotions, areas of my life that I have believed the enemy's lies so long that they became my identity. God is teaching me Who He Is…and who I am in Him and His thoughts towards me - my true identity. I learned how to identify what I was wrestling with…and then know how to bring it into alignment with Truth and to actually resolve and heal some things I have struggled with for years that had me paralyzed, keeping me from moving forward victoriously in Christ. It is a life changing, life giving experience for me.”
Another woman wisely said, “You can’t fix what you don’t know is broken.” In the busyness of life, it is too easy to never evaluate what we are doing and why we do it. Therefore, we continue in the same broken patterns and habits. Walking Worthy helps shine the light of God’s truth on the reality of our past and how it is affecting our present, and then gives us the tools to make new choices, patterns, and habits. As the same woman testifies, “God has used Walking Worthy to make me aware of wounds (encumbrances Heb. 12:1) and sin that Satan had used to blind and defeat me. God has brought spiritual and emotional healing and continued to show Himself in ways I've been unable to see Him before.”
Is this an easy process? Definitely not. There are issues that arise that are painful and heavy, but oh, it is so worth the momentary struggle through the emotions or memories. The freedom on the other side, the new tools, the deep relationships, the healing, the new depth of your relationship with God, the hope – all of these results are beautiful treasures that are worth going through this journey.
Do you come out completely fixed and problem-free? Of course not! We are still sinful humans in a sinful world. However, I love the way another lady describes it, “[Walking Worthy is] a class about heart transformation (processing the past and the present) in order to move forward in our walk with Christ and with others. It helped me identify areas I was stuck and… helped me to better understand other people in my life (who may or may not be stuck too) and how we all affect each other. Finally, I think it helped me grow in my relationship with Jesus, and learn to appropriate His grace…not perfectly of course, but more consistently.”
I don’t think I can emphasize enough the blessing of knowing the Lord better through WW. Another participant said, “Walking Worthy helped to make things I have known all my life become real to me. Phrases like "God loves you" and "I'm a child of the King" became much more than just words.” Even though I wasn’t raised in a very legalistic church, it amazed me to realize that I still struggle to picture God looking at me with love and grace, but more of an impatient, frustrated parent who wants me to change. Walking Worthy does an excellent job of reminding us who God is, how much He loves us, and who we truly are in Him.
Even if you don’t consider yourself to have deep wounds, I believe every person can benefit greatly from Walking Worthy. I hope you will consider and ask the Lord if this a journey that He wants to use to bring you more freedom and healing. Feel free to talk to me or anyone else you know who has been on this journey, or check it out at www.walkingworthyjourney.org. The new classes for the fall are not up yet, but keep checking. We are working to offer a couple here at Grace.
~Judith Graham
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