The Brave Choice to Get Help: How Going to Counseling Cultivates Truth and Courage

By Jenn Schultz

God's Brave Women - Jenn's Story

It took months to make the phone call. Then a few more months to fill out the simple paperwork.

By the time I actually started counseling, it was about six months past when I had even started considering it. But honestly? Years and years overdue.

I grew up a classic good girl, with parents that brought me to church and a faith community that was basically family.

Yet a low-level, performance-driven anxiety followed me like a shadow. We good girls are still as much a mess as anyone, but quietly so, out of fear.

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"We good girls are still as much a mess as anyone, but quietly so, out of fear."

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At the same time, there was a sense of not being able to fit in with my peers, leaving me nervous and quiet. There was also a need to make the adults around me happy, because with that came approval and recognition.

Throughout this time, my own image of God was formed. He was good, sure. Loving, in His way. But stern. Demanding. Constantly testing me. Often disappointed in me. Only generous with blessings when I filled my end of the bargain. <