Embracing Our Unique Gifts

God Hears Her Podcast

Episode 97 – Embracing Our Unique Gifts

Elisa Morgan & Eryn Eddy with Denisse Copeland

[Music]

Elisa: It’s not which gift. It’s your heart’s posture. Is that what you’re saying?

Denisse: Yeah, it’s like the heart posture…

Elisa: Okay.

Denisse: …of what’s driving you to do what you’re doing. Is it to please people? Is it to please the person that’s going to walk in? Is it comparison, or you need acceptance? Or whatever it is that drives us to do what we’re doing, if it’s not in a place of abiding in Christ, I think when you’re abiding in Him, like there’s peace right? There’s rest. You know abiding in Him there’s rest. You’re not trying to please anybody. You’re not trying to prove anything, because you’re already approved by Him. So what is it that’s causing that in us? And we all battle with that. I think I still…I always still battle with that.

[Music]

Voice: You’re listening to God Hears Her, a podcast for women where we explore the stunning truth that God hears you, He sees you, and He loves you because you are His. Find out how these realities free you today on God Hears Her.

Elisa: Welcome to God Hears Her. I’m Elisa Morgan.

Eryn: And I’m Eryn Eddy. While Jesus was on earth, He was close friends with two women named Mary and Martha. If you’re familiar with their story, then you may think of Martha as the busy one who didn’t focus enough on being around Jesus, while Mary was the more restful spirit that was willing to spend time with Jesus without hurrying around.

Elisa: Okay, so do you tend to hurry around getting things done? Yes. Do you stress about your “to do” list? Or do you prefer to rest? Would you consider yourself more of a Mary or a Martha?

Eryn: In today’s conversation, Elisa and I are talking to Denisse Copeland about the stories of Mary and Martha and how Jesus loved them and their unique giftings.

Elisa: Denisse Copeland was born and raised in Puerto Rico, but her world was shaken soon after she moved to the United States. She’s now a mother of four living and working alongside her husband, Rashawn Copeland as an online minister, evangelist, and the author of Set Apart.

Eryn: We can’t wait to learn more about Denise on this episode of God Hears Her. Elisa, I read this quote that was just really impactful, and it just made me want to dive more into it. And it was “God gave me a gift that was difficult for me to accept as a child.” It was this article that was written by our guest today.

Elisa: We want to welcome you, Denisse. Thanks for joining us.

Denisse: Hi, thank you so much for having me. I’m so excited to spend time with you ladies today.

Elisa: So we’ve got to start right into that quote, Eryn. I mean God gave you a gift as a child. Take us there.

Denisse: Yeah.

Elisa: What was that about?

Denisse: Yeah, so you know growing up in just a broken home with a single mother, I felt like growing up I rarely heard the words of encouragement. I heard words of just pointing out the [gold or good?] in me and actually like in a sea. Cause I grew up in Puerto Rico, there’s a lot of different beautiful women like curly hair, straight hair. And I found myself in this comparison journey of like, well she has curly hair. My hair is too chaotic. And not knowing that my hair, I know this sounds silly, that you know considered like my hair being like oh God gave me, you know. This is just a gift. Like having curly hair or embracing like the natural beauty that God has given me, I found myself in that journey of trying to compare myself with other women and not fully embracing and accepting who God really created me to be physically. And yeah, that just put me on a whole different journey and discovering my purpose in Him. So yeah.

Eryn: That’s so beautiful, Denisse. Would you share with us what it was like to be a little girl growing up with a single mom. Did you grow up in a Christian household? How long did you live in Puerto Rico? I’d love to just kind of learn more about your journey and then get into where you are today.

Denisse: Yeah I would love that.

Elisa: Yeah, thanks.

Denisse: So I was born in Puerto Rico. And I lived there all the way to…up when I was 15 or 16. And after that, I ended up moving to Florida. So my dad was…he ended up taking custody over us living with a single mom who was very stressful. She did the best she could, you know, in raising us up. I can’t even imagine just being a single mom and raising two daughters and working and juggling relationships and you know all those other things. And so I can’t even blame her for half the things that she went through. But it was really difficult for me. I look more like my dad. So I felt like I was a bit of a target for her. And so, you know, in moments of arguments or disagreements, it was like more taken out on me and just really beaten down by her words. And the love of a mother is just always so true and just genuine. But those moments really had me questioning like whether or not my mom really loved me as…as her daughter. But…

Eryn: And that is…can I just pause real quick? That is so real. I have friends that have walked through divorce and learning how to heal when they see their former spouse in their children is a whole journey in itself to heal from. And that’s why I hear you kind of speaking into is that your mom was processing her hurt on you, because she saw her former husband, your dad, in you.

Denisse: Yeah, yeah.

Elisa: I don’t think we talk about that very often. And when children do carry those images, we don’t even, for you, you were separated from your dad. You don’t even really know what you’re carrying. There must be such a bewilderment about that. And all the way till you’re 15, that’s many layers of Denisse.

Denisse: Yeah.

Elisa: That’s many, you know, metamorphoses, you know of…of Denisse.

Denisse: Yeah, yeah. I saw…I saw a lot of things. Puerto Rico’s really like Catholic based. And so we were going to church like every Sunday with my mom, you know, once in a while, but my grandma was ultimately the one that will take us to church every Sunday. And I had all these questions like, you know, who is God? Who is Jesus? If this is Jesus, then what does God look like? And just…I had this surface-level of understanding of who God was and of the commandments. And so it was like as long as I don’t like break all these rules, than I’m good. [inaudible]

Elisa: That’s stressful though.

Denisse: Yeah, it is. Like as long as I actually don’t physically kill somebody then I’m…then I’m good. But I…I…

Eryn: [Civilian?]

Denisse: Yeah, exactly. So that’s exactly what I…

Elisa: Check that box.

Denisse: …yes, I took it literal. Like as long as I did not kill somebody or stole something like I was good. But now, you know, Jesus is whole different. He took it to the next level. But yeah, after that, my dad took custody over us because it was just too bad a lot of just emotional abuse, verbal, and at times, physical. But it really just had me at a place just at 15 or 16 where I was like, man, I saw so many things that I don’t think a young woman should have seen so young. And having been shaped by that, my view of relationship with men and my view of things that I should be doing. Like I’m…I’m over here thinking about doing adult stuff like when I’m 15-16. And I’m like not embracing that childhood of being a 15-year-old or 14 where it’s just friends and just having fun, whatever 14-year-olds do. And yeah, so [inaudible].

Elisa: So take us forward then from living with your dad and your sister as well?

Denisse: My sister yeah, so.

Elisa: Yeah.

Denisse: I’m the oldest. She’s the youngest.

Eryn: Okay.

Denisse: And we moved into my dad’s house in Florida which he always wanted us to move with him. And I was just in denial. I was like I just love Puerto Rico. I love my culture. I love my friends here. And the US just seemed scary to me, especially the language barrier. My first language is Spanish, so moving to Florida was a huge step of faith; but I knew it was the best thing for me and my sister. I don’t…I don’t know if my sister had it that bad. I can’t speak for her. But I told her hey, I’m moving with Dad. Do you want to come? And she ended up following me in. And my dad remarried. He had two other children. And so I was just brought into that blended family immediately which, you know, I love them. It was all great, but I could sense that they have a mom. I don’t have a mom now. And…and even when I moved away, my mom never reached out or texted me. And I would reach out, she wouldn’t answer. And I just felt this abandonment like I really feel abandoned. Like my mom really doesn’t care. She doesn’t really care that we just left. She never really showed up to court to fight for us or anything. So it led me on a journey of bitterness. I was angry, bitter, and I didn’t want anything to do with her. I would tell people that I just didn’t have a mom. I don’t have a mom. I just have my step-mom. And I carried that for some years. So I was junior year of high school when I got there. And senior year came, graduated. I didn’t even get my diploma of high school because I had such trouble learning the language and passing the [inaudible] test, the FCATs and all that, I just went straight into work. And after that, I was already 18. I was like okay, I’m grown now. I want to do my own thing. And I just want freedom at this point. And my dad is really strict, like it’s all about like there’s a curfew. You have to clean. You have to do all these things if you want to go out. And you have to be back by a certain time. And I’m like oh, I don’t think this is going to work [inaudible] gonna work for me for an 18 year-old.

Elisa: You had seen too much, yeah.

Denisse: Exactly.

Elisa: You had seen too much too.

Denisse: Yes, yeah I was younger. I would be left at my house, or I would even go. At that age, believe it or not, I was already at parties at 14, 15-year-old. Like I don’t think anybody should be at a party at that age. And so I was so used to that, that I had a best friend that I used to work with. And she was like well, you can move in, you know, with me. I’ll talk to my dad, whatever. And so [inaudible] had heard that had agreed. And her dad had a little bit of a background like of faith…a faith background. And she had it to, but it just…it was just like not portrayed in any way. But her dad, as soon as I walked into their house, he was a single dad too. He had his daughter and a…and another son. And he was so genuine about letting me stay as long as I needed to. And so I did. But you know, after I moved in with her, and you know, I picked my stuff up from my dad’s house and I said, I’m just leaving. I can’t do this curfew thing or whatever. I just rebelled and just left my dad’s house. And I was just in this state like it was just rebellion. And I moved in with my best friend and then, you know, did the whole partying. Now it’s like I have all the freedom I want, like the freedom that I want is right here. I have my car. I was working. I was like okay, this is fun. This is this. And things started just like crashing down. My car started breaking down and just relationships were…that were coming into my life were just so toxic. And it seemed like I was going into this deep pit. And I was dating this guy, and I think that relationship really just set me up for like wow. Something has to change in my life or…

Eryn: Yeah.

Denisse: …this is not gonna go well with me personally. And I remember my best friend, she saw how…how bad I was in a state of just like frustration. She was like hey, like I have these friends that I…I used to hang out with in the past. And they just meet together. They’re positive people. I think you should come and like spend time with them and…and just see how a different crowd will do for you. I was like okay, that’s fine. So we show up at 7:00 o’clock at this coffee shop. It was a Bible study. I have no Bible. And I’m just sitting there listening to them. It’s so different, because my mentality is completely different.

Elisa: Yeah, yeah.

Denisse: And…and they’re just talking, and they’re just genuinely laughing. And there was peace in this room. And…and I’m like wow, like they can really laugh without coarse joking or making dirty jokes. And this is like really awesome. So I sat through a whole Bible study, didn’t know what they were talking about. I just know there was peace in the room. And it just…when I left, I just kept coming and coming. And so they ended up moving that Bible study into a home, and so it became this house church thing. My relationship with my friend kind of split just because God was already doing something in me at that time. And I was like no, I really like this. Like there was just a pull that just come every Thursday to this place. I remember I was breaking up with this guy. I just…I left his house, and I’m driving at 3:00 o’clock in the morning. And I stop at this red light. And I’m just sitting there and like everything just like hit me all at once. And I started crying and weeping and weeping. And I was just saying sorry to God for all the bad things that I’ve done, because I felt like everything that was happening to me was because…like was just coming back to haunt me because of the things I’ve done to other people. And I was just crying and crying and saying I’m sorry for all these things that I didn’t know that I didn’t remember I’d done, it was just coming up out of my mouth. And after I was done confessing or repenting what you would call now because I did not know that’s what I was doing, I felt like tangible peace in my car for the first time. And I’ve never felt peace like growing up or even where I was at that…never felt peace. I didn’t even know what peace was or felt like. And so I just wiped my tears, and I could drive home. And God removed that toxic relationship that I was in. My best friend was gone. I kept going to this Bible study. And we were going through the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. And we were going through this video that comes with it. And in one of the videos, he’s sharing the gospel. And he’s like you know, if God were to be on one knee, and you know, He’s proposing to you and the ring is Jesus, would you marry Him? And I was like it literally [inaudible] the Holy Spirit did something so powerful in my heart that like everything just like stripped. I don’t know, I just…I said Yes, Lord. Like it just felt like somebody wanted me. Like I just felt loved. Like God wants to marry me through Jesus. And…and so I accepted that invitation, that proposal, that engagement of whatever it was. And it was so special to me. And I just started devouring the Word of God. There was this one friend that I had. He gifted me a Bible. I never had a Bible. He gave me a Bible. And he told me to read Psalm 1. You know it says, you know, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in step with the wicked or sits in the company of mockers.” And so I read that, the whole [psalms] and he was asking me, do you know what this means? And I was like no, I…I don’t know what that means. And like I read it, I just couldn’t understand it. My eyes, I don’t know, the skills. And so later on, I read it again. The…when the Holy Spirit does something in me, I’m not sure. I could see the Scriptures then. And I read it, and I was like wow. I was the mocker. I was the wicked person. That was mind-blowing to me that I was walking in step with the wicked and sit…sitting in the company of mockers and doing all that stuff. And yeah, and so that is just [inaudible] journey of where I am now.

Elisa: I am so struck by the peace that attracted you…

Denisse: Yes.

Elisa: …and the peace you experienced. And you know, I’m remembering too you were talking about checking the boxes and doing things right, you know, and thinking that’s all I really need to do. And then God really reveals to you that there is this relationship that it’s all about. And when you’re outside that relationship, there is this not peace. You know, there’s this chaos. There’s this sadness and…

Eryn: Desire to strive.

Elisa: Yes, yes, yes.

Eryn: And perform.

Elisa: Yes.

Denisse: That’s right.

Elisa: And that’s beautiful that…that that’s what God used to woo you close to His heart and to experience Him. Now bring us forward if you would, Denisse, into how you met your husband and gradually into what you’re doing now. And…and how does that connect with this quote that Eryn started us with in terms of a gift that God gave you as a child.

Denisse: Yes, yes, so fast forward I was probably a year into following Jesus and getting delivered from all these things that I was just really entangled with in the world. And I think my husband came to the Lord around the same time, because we were really babes in Christ. And I met him through Snap Chat. I don’t even know if they use that still. But…

Eryn: I love that. They…I mean we use it for filters, all those crazy, cute little…

Denisse: Okay.

Eryn: …bunny filters where…

Denisse: Okay.

Eryn: …it makes you sound like you’re on helium.

Denisse: Yeah, that’s funny, so.

Elisa: I love that.

Denisse: Yeah, so we’re using Snap Chat. And this guy just pops on my little thing. And I click on him, and he’s doing these Snap Chat mini sermons. And he’s like ministering to me. You know just…

Elisa: Cool.

Denisse: …just stories. But it was like wow, like this guy’s really ministering to me right now. Like he’s speaking my language. You know he’s speaking like let me just fast forward it was like spiritual like you know..

Eryn: Yeah.

Denisse: …getting the whole gospel thing. And I had written to him. And I was like wow, I got…that really spoke to me this and that. So I just kept seeing it, seeing it. And eventually we…we connected on there, and we shared each other’s testimonies through Snap Chat. And then he gave me his number. He called me on the phone while I was at work. And he was in the military. He was in Minneapolis somewhere and in a base and in the military. And so he calls me. And you know the gradual introduction. Like hey, how are you? Good, okay. Yes, yeah. And then next thing you know, he’s asking me if I like chocolate brothers. I’m like okay, this is kind of weird. Cause he is dark-skinned. And I was like…

Eryn: I love it.

Denisse: …I was completely thrown off. I was like chocolate who? Chocolate brothers?

Elisa: Is that a band? Yeah.

Eryn: Is that a store where they sell hot chocolate? Is that…

Denisse: Oh my. I was like oh man. I was…I really thought this is just gonna be another guy that’s just trying to just start a relationship and distract me from Jesus. And at this point, I didn’t want anything to come between me and Jesus.

Elisa: Yeah.

Denisse: Like it’s like no. like this is sacred. I’ve done that already don’t want to deal with that. So I just…I just didn’t like how he approached  me. So we just stopped talking for like a few months [inaudible].

Eryn: [inaudible]

Denisse: I’m just like…

Elisa: You disciplined him. Yeah, go yeah.

Denisse: And…and he was far away too. I was like, what I am even doing right now? Okay. So we were following each other on Facebook still, seeing his posts. Five months later, I saw a post that really encouraged me again, and I said something. He said something, and we just kind of clicked together again and started talking on the phone. And our relationship really grew even though we were in different states. And he came to Florida cause I was living in Florida. And then I went to Oklahoma to meet his parents and all that. And I packed my stuff in Florida, and we just drove all the way back here to Oklahoma City. And we got engaged and got married a week later. And then that…

Elisa: Wow.

Denisse: …it was really fast. When I tell you that, I feel like I married a man I didn’t know. Like…

Elisa: You kind of did.

Denisse: …[inaudible] yeah.

Elisa: Yeah, yeah.

Denisse: Because it was really fast and yeah. But I’m glad I did, like I just really loved his heart for Jesus like his heart for the Lord was something really attractive to me and what God did in his life with his story.

Eryn: So tell us about your book Set Apart.

Denisse: Yes, so I never thought I would write a book. Like I said like I never [inaudible] very well at English at all. And so the fact that God really opened this door for a book was insane to me. But the book Set Apart: Stop Comparing, Own Your Giftedness, and Rest in Jesus was really birthed out of I loved the story of Mary and Martha. I loved it. I had read countless articles about them and…

Elisa: And just to pause, you know, Mary and Martha were sisters…

Denisse: Oh yes.

Elisa: …among the early followers of Jesus, stunningly in first-century Christianity included as disciples. And they had very different personalities, didn’t they?

Denisse: They did,.

Elisa: You want to chat about that a second?

Denisse: Yeah, is they have very unique personalities. So Martha mostly is considered the busy one, the hospitable one. She can’t keep still. And then Mary’s just the one that’s sitting at the feet of Jesus. And I read their stories, and I was like Lord, I feel like I can relate to both of them. There are moments in my life where I can be a Mary and then there are moments that I can be a Martha. And I started like just really digging into them, and I saw that Jesus later in the passages, He says that He loved Martha. And you know sometimes we can get caught up in like, don’t be like Martha. I feel like sometimes Martha gets a little bit of a shade. And I’m like man, but…

Elisa: I do too. I do too.

Denisse: …I know.

Eryn: Yeah.

Denisse: But Jesus loved her. And he loved Martha. He loved Mary. And God had given them two unique giftings for His glory, for His purposes. And I read their stories, and I saw how, you know, Martha was operating in her gifting. She had that gift of hospitality but she was doing it from an anxious heart, which you see how Jesus calls the heart issue in her and says “Martha, Martha, you are anxious about many things and only thing is needed.” And Mary had chosen what was better. So and that’s the way I was like okay, so there’s nothing wrong with having the gifts that God has given you. Like she embraced the gift that God gave her like a gift of hospitality. Now what is driving her to do what she’s doing? I mean can you imagine just like having the Savior of the world, you hear that He’s coming over to your house with all these disciples. I mean I would be cuckoo too.

Elisa: Freak out, yeah.

Denisse: Like what do you cook?

Eryn: Right. You know and are the dishes really clean? Like.

Denisse: Yeah.

Elisa: Exactly.

Denisse: And the house clean, making sure cause this is the Savior of the world. Like this is a big deal. This is not just like the next door neighbor. Like this is a big deal.

Eryn: What do you wear?

Denisse: Right, yes.

Eryn: You know like everything. Continue.

Denisse: And so, for me personally, like I host people here in my house every Thursday. And I love bringing people into my home. And I’ve had those moments where it’s like people are coming over. Like I need to clean house. I need to make sure there’s food and drinks and all of that. And so that’s why I can relate to her and to Mary. And then I started examining myself, and God was showing me like, you know, is the posture of what is your giftedness in? Like what is driving you to do?

Elisa: Okay, so pausing just for a second. So you’re saying it’s the posture that you’re investing your gift with. It’s not which gift, it’s your heart’s posture. Is that what you’re saying?

Denisse: Yes, like the heart posture…

Elisa: Okay.

Denisse: …of what’s driving you to do what you’re doing. Is it to please people? Is to please the person that’s going to walk in? Is it comparison or you need acceptance? Or whatever it is that drives us to do what we’re doing, if it’s not in a place of abiding in Christ, I think cause when you’re abiding in Him, like there’s peace, right? There’s rest. When you abide in Him, there’s rest. You’re not trying to please anybody. You’re not trying to prove anything, because you’re already approved by Him. So what is it that’s causing that in us? And we all battle with that. I think I still bat…I obviously still battle with that.

Eryn: It kinds of goes back to like what you were saying in the beginning about your story and how you just confessed and just shared all of these things that whether it’s things you’ve done and things that you feel. And you were met with more peace, and you saw how much the Lord loved you. And then I’m thinking about how you shared just now, Martha, her gifts weren’t wrong, but she was operating out of an anxious heart. And Jesus still loved her. It’s such a powerful message that Jesus loves us no matter how we feel, no matter even if our posture is wrong. When we just vocalize this is how we feel, He’s strong enough and competent enough to hold it and take it and sanctify us through it. I love that, Denisse.

Denisse: That’s right.

Elisa: And I also heard you say, and I’d love to hear a little bit more about this, that we all kind of have pieces of Mary and pieces of Martha in us. You know maybe different seasons in our lives or different moments in the day. But can you unpack that a little bit more for us?

Denisse: Yeah, so like I said, yeah, there are moments where I experience the Mary part of things, or I know somebody that has a heart…like Mary heart a thing. Like there’s this…there can be a friend that really, she’s not like so driven with doing things, but she’s still good at praying. This woman that’s just such a great listener. Like she can listen to you. You can talk, and she can just listen and listen and listen and have this just stillness about her. And I’ve had moments where you know, there are days where I don’t have to the things. And I think as I keep learning and I keep growing in the understanding that I am a daughter and that I’m set apart, I’m a daughter, I don’t have to prove anything. The less I am driven to do all the things, like it’s okay for me to just sit and chat with a friend, or it’s okay for me to just sit and really engage with my children and forget about the laundry or forget about like the dishes and all that. So I think, like I said, it’s a hard posture. But I think we all carry that. But I don’t think that we’re all like, go, go, go. Like there’s gotta be something in each one of us women that is that Mary, that there is that stillness where we want to sit and listen or sit and read the Word or listen to worship or just rest.

Elisa: And it all counts. It all counts.

Denisse: Yeah, it does. It’s not laziness, yeah.

Elisa: Yeah, I’m led back to you…the way you were attracted to the peace of being in relationship with Christ. And I think that’s the thing that we can miss, you know, when we’re scurrying…

Denisse: Yeah.

Elisa: …if you will. And you’re pulling us back to that’s what we’re set apart to regardless of our giftings. We’re set apart to Him to accept that proposal to be in that relationship…

Denisse: Yes.

Elisa: …to connect with Him.

Denisse: Yes, to know Him and to be known by Him. So yes. I love that, yeah. It…there’s just nothing to prove literally. Like when you’re outside of Christ, you’re constantly trying to be approved by other people. It’s this constant battle of like doing things to please other people. For me, it was like pleasing my mom or my dad by cleaning the house or just doing things to just win her love for me. Like it’s just this conditional thing. But when you’re in Christ He bought you with the blood of Jesus, He adopted you as a daughter. So now we just live out of this place of identity of knowing that we’re a daughter. We’re set apart. We have nothing to prove. He loves us right where we are no matter what. Nothing that we do or don’t do will change His love for us, so…

Eryn: That’s right.

Denisse: …yeah.

Eryn: Denisse, what would you say to the woman that’s listening that’s struggling to see some of the things in her childhood were actually gifts that God’s now using in her life that maybe were wounds then?

Denisse: I think what I would say is that God wastes nothing. And even though you had a horrible past, I don’t know what past you had, bad, good, the trauma, all of that. You may not have seen the good in it then, but like I said, God wastes nothing. And all of that is shaping you, molding you, all the way up until He speaks that identity over you and shows you like the why of why this happened. Sometimes I…let me see…my husband told me recently, he said something so powerful, that sometimes what frustrates us the most is what leads us to our giftedness. I guess this something that we’re frustrated about, sometimes ends up being what our gift is. What gives us passion to do and…for example, like okay. So I would say hospitality is one of my main gifts. Like I love hospitality, opening my home. And that didn’t happen a lot in my house and community and people and all of that. And so that frustration of not having healthy relationships around me or somebody pouring into me, encouraging me, became that frustration that I wanted God to use me, and I know he placed that desire in me to open up my home and show hospitality. And so that has enabled me to open up my home and have all kinds of people, homeless people, people…strangers, like families and all of that come into my home and provide a safe place for them to meet Jesus, to find healing, and to feel loved. So I would just say that God just doesn’t waste anything. He doesn’t waste any pain and in that He will start molding and shaping like and showing you really as He keeps [inaudible] Him like what truly are those gifting and that gift that He has given you to show to the world so that they can meet Jesus. That’s what I would say. And to the woman that can’t seem to slow down or stop, I just want to let you know that that you can stop. You can rest. You can stop. It’s not a works-based thing. I know we get caught up in this culture right now. It’s like go, go, go, go, right. Because if you don’t go, you’re missing out. You’re not getting something done. You’re considered lazy. And that’s how it was for my culture. It was just like go, go, go. Clean. Do this. Do that, do that. And you run yourself, burnout. But I just want you to know that you have permission to rest. Jesus gives us rest. And yeah, cause you have permission to rest, sister. It’s gonna be okay. And then for the woman that is just that seems that she’s not doing enough and that people call her lazy, I just want to say you’re not lazy. The Lord loves you, and you have a gift. And He’s using you right where you are. Forget about what other people are saying or how people are perceiving you. God is using you right where you are, whether that’s praying for somebody or just attending a prayer meeting or really just being engaged with your kids or being that friend that actually takes time to go out at a coffee shop and really listen to someone else’s struggle. The Lord is using you in that area. We can’t all be the same. The body has different parts for a reason. And the Lord loves you. He sees you. He wants to use you.

Eryn: I love how Denisse embraces both Mary and Martha to teach us that Jesus loves each of us and what we have been gifted with no matter what.

Elisa: That was a really insightful conversation. But before we close out today’s episode of God Hears Her, we want to remind you that the show notes are available in the podcast description. You can also find a link to learn more about Denisse Copeland and her book Set Apart. And check out the links to connect with Eryn and me on social. You can find these links when you visit our website at godhearsher.org. That’s godhearsher.org.

Eryn: Thank you for joining us. And don’t forget. God hears you. He sees you. And He loves you because you are His.

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Elisa: Today’s episode was engineered by Anne Stevens and produced by Daniel Ryan Day and Jade Gustafson. We also want to recognize Emily and Josh for all of their help and support. Thanks, everyone.

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Eryn: God Hears Her is a production of Our Daily Bread Ministries.