Treasured Ministries

Offering women a biblical solution for inner healing

Vulnerability

The Courage to be Vulnerable

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Without authenticity, there is no vulnerability.

Without vulnerability, there is no intimacy.

Without courage to be authentic, the connections God created for you cannot happen.

Everything you are—your authentic self, your story, your imperfections, your fears, your dreams, your past,—all God has created you to be is a beautiful pearl to treasure and share with those who value your whole heart.

The Extraordinary Results of Anchoring Together

Formed by adversity of sand and surf, true pearls are imperfect, yet they carry great value to those who understand, appreciate, and respect the journey of this jewel.  When a pearl comes out of its shell to connect with other treasures, something special happens.

A pearl alone is a beautiful treasure, but when anchored with other treasures on a strong strand, the results are extraordinary.

Similarly, when we are authentic with one another and held together by God’s agape love, we find the true connection God created us for.

But great courage is required for this true connection. Experience has taught us to fear bringing our real selves to the table.  Perhaps that deep desire for connection deceived our hearts and we made bad decisions to share our treasure with those who had no empathy or because of their own pain could not value our journey.

  • We shared our story but felt shame from others.
  • We put ourselves out there and failed.
  • We loved greatly only to be rejected.
  • We trusted and were betrayed.
  • We lived and we were labeled.

And so we falsely believed we were not enough. We stopped really living. We hid. We shut down. We made perfection our goal to shield rejection. We stayed on the surface and had many acquaintances but nothing deep.

In our shame, we pulled others down to prop ourselves up. We swung between the two extremes of hiding or trying to hot-wire connection by giving our pearls away to those who trampled on them.

Opening Your Heart Takes Courage to Be Vulnerable

Opening your heart again to community after you have been hurt or betrayed takes a tremendous amount of courage. I know this from personal experience. I know how the fear of rejection can paralyze your heart.

And I also know from experience that stepping back into a healthy biblical community one baby step at a time is a vital part of healing.

Part of that journey for me was walking in close fellowship with a small group of women in my Nourish Together Group. They carried trust and had the courage to be vulnerable with me. When this happened, my soul relaxed, and ever so slowly my shell opened and my true self . . . my story of failure . . . my fears . . . my imperfections fell inside the safety net of their trust and agape love.

The courage to share your pearls wisely and find true connection comes from embracing your core authentic God-given identity and inviting others to do the same.

Why is this a solution?

Join me for Facebook Live on Wednesday to unpack this truth deeper so you can become brave with your heart and carry trust to help others open their shells and share their pearls.

Nourish Scripture: Jeremiah 1

Blog written by Aliene Thompson. Aliene Thompson is the founder of Treasured Ministries and the Author of the Nourish Bible Study Series. © 2019 Treasured Ministries.

Authentic Friendship

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She found herself out of practice. Like trying to sit at the piano again and struggling to find notes after years of not playing, she seemed out of tune when she tried to practice friendship. Her heart held her back from giving her all to the keys before her and making beautiful music. Oh, she had many acquaintances. Company was not lacking, but her God-given desire for deep connections felt starved. She closed her eyes and prayed, “Teach me, Lord, how to start again.”

Real friendship. . . . Authentic. Vulnerable. Deep. Trustworthy. Christ-centered.

  • We are created for relationships.

…but often life becomes busy. We devote time to our children for a season. Our homes and careers demand our minutes and leave us with little margin to make time for friendship.

  • We are created for deep connections.

…but relationships get messy, and we’d rather not get messy again. We get hurt, so we protect our hearts. We trade being authentic for achievement. We limit ourselves to surface relationships so we don’t suffer heartache. And while acquaintances continue to accumulate, we miss the gift of a deeper walk with a few close friends . . . the gift of being true to ourselves and inviting others to do the same.

This is my story.

Can you relate?

Pulling Away after Experiencing Hurt

On the other side of two hurtful relationships, I found myself pulling away.

Keeping to myself.

Pouring my time and energy into my family.

And honestly–I am grateful for that season of special closeness to my family and the Lord. I needed some time and space—just to be with God for a while and heal from my hurt as I learned and grew. And I am grateful for that time concentrated on my boys as I know they will fly my nest soon.

But like God opening the door to Noah’s ark and telling him it was time to come out—that his set-apart season was over—so too my beautiful season of being pulled away was not meant to be forever. I learned a lot in my ark about authentic friendship. About boundaries, trust, and vulnerability. Also during that time, God put very special friends in my life who pulled me right out of my shell and showed me about Real Authentic Healthy Friendship.

Understanding Authentic Friendship

Here is what I learned and would love to share with you over the next seven weeks:

Healthy biblical friendship doesn’t just happen. It is something we must pursue and practice by taking proactive steps according to God’s principles.

This is the truth: You can have deep connections ordained by God himself! You are worthy to be loved. To belong. But you must practice . . . you must put yourself out there . . . and you must do it God’s way.

Welcome to “Authentic Friendship,” the next series from Treasured Ministries. Over the next seven weeks and on Facebook Live you will . . .

  • Discover God’s principles for practicing healthy friendship as you consider various passages on friendship in the Bible.
  • Be inspired to pray for God’s divine connections in your life and how to recognize them.
  • Gain wisdom on how to discern unhealthy friendships and set boundaries.
  • Find courage to be vulnerable with others in order to create deeper connections.
  • Abandon the insecurities that tell you to chase endless shallow friendships and find strength from the deep connections and accountability that can be found in a small group.

Looking forward to getting started? Why not invite someone to join you by forwarding this to a friend? That’s a great way to begin!

Blessings,

Aliene and the Treasured Ministries Team

Blog written by Aliene Thompson. Aliene Thompson is the founder of Treasured Ministries and the Author of the Nourish Bible Study Series. © 2019 Treasured Ministries.