More than seven years ago, I met over the phone and chose my very first Life Purpose Coach®. (Typically, that coaching process is ten, 50-minute sessions through Dr. B's incredible book, Conversations on Purpose with its ten EZ-Forms. This helps a client discern God's vision of their unique life purpose and walk the pathway of that holy journey.) I knew these sessions would help me, usually a faith-bursting Christian, answer my biggest question: Why am I still alive?

As our 1^st tele-coaching time approached, I hid away from my family in a quiet corner of our home to be able to focus on what my Christian coach might say. This was going to be my precious time to unpack my life. WHOA! Isn't that selfish? Some may think so, but no...it isn't. If we don't stop to take inventory of our God-honoring and sometimes God-despising lives with someone we trust, who will do it for us?

My coach began that wonderful session with an opening prayer, inviting the Holy Spirit to join us. I knew she had my pre-paperwork in front of her, and I felt blessed that she saw me, the real me, on paper. She drew out additional questions from my written answers, even though I noticed that it was hard for me to talk about myself. (Do we tend to think it's prideful to talk about ourselves for more than a minute? Yes, many do, but it isn't! God wants us to know ourselves really well, so we can we understand how we need to grow.) To dive deeper, my coach continued to ask pertinent questions and I continued to answer honestly. As she closed in a brief prayer of thanksgiving, I realized that I felt listened to, heard, and affirmed. That was all new for me. It had been an excellent time of self-discovery, and I only wished that the next coaching chat could come more quickly so I could connect more dots of my life.

On our 2nd call, I heard myself voicing back to her my heart-felt desires, roadblocks, and sins, which allowed "Aha Moments" to pop! I learned about the incredible power of stating aloud what we've held tightly within us. I love it now when I hear a client of mine say, "Oh, Wow! I never saw it that way."

A big shift occurred in our 3rd conversation, during which we discussed my high school and college years. It was like God pushed me back through those time periods to reintroduce me to myself. My Life Purpose Coach® observed that I had checked all the boxes of activities pertaining to what sports and clubs that I had participated in and what positions I had held. Then she gently spoke one sentence that stunned me: "You were quite the leader." I gulped and thought, Oh, my goodness, where did I go off track? What she said to me was true and graciously humbling, yet sad, because my adult life experiences had wallpapered layers of lies upon me, and fear was used like paste to keep those vicious lies sticking to me. God was reawakening me to his Truth of my story...to set me free by revealing more clarity about who he created me to be!