Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: All right, well, what's up, everyone? Welcome back to our Ecosystem podcast. Yeah. I'm C.J. that's Grant.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Howdy.
[00:00:10] Speaker A: And we're doing things a little bit different this time. If you've watched our previous episodes of Ecosystem, you know that what we do is we dive in to the background to try to look at the overarching narrative of scripture in a series. When we teach on a Sunday morning, we only have a certain amount of time that we can go into big picture stuff in scripture. So that's what this podcast is for for us. Look at the whole world of scripture and how we fit into it. But with this series, y'all, that we just finished, where we were talking about community, we actually kind of did the big picture sermon to at the beginning of that series. So if you want to check that out, that was January 5th, I think.
[00:00:48] Speaker B: I think.
[00:00:49] Speaker A: So go back on YouTube or on wherever you get your podcast or videos and check that out.
So because we already did that, we decided to approach it from a different way and ask the question of outside of the biblical expectations of community, how do we see in our own mental, emotional, spiritual development, how do we see the community matters? So in order to do that, today, we have a special guest. I want to introduce everyone to Chelsea Arrington. Chelsea is first off. She and her husband are very close friends of my wife and I, but Chelsea is also one of the teachers and preachers at the church the Fold in South Carolina. And for her full time job, she is a counselor. A family and marriage counselor. Correct. That's what you focus in. Awesome. So Chelsea has a unique perspective because she teaches the Bible and also she works with people in the capacity of mental health day in and day out. So she sees in a unique way how our mental health and our emotional health overlap. So I think she's got a unique perspective to give us on this. So, Chelsea, anything you want to tell us about yourself before we jump into just interviewing you?
[00:02:05] Speaker C: Yeah, I have born and ra. Been born and raised in the upstate of South Carolina. And so my family and I live here in the area and we love. I love getting to do the work in both capacities that you mentioned, C.J. get to. Yeah. Teach scripture over the community that we are a part of and also work with couples, families, individuals, lots of different folks in different ways and. Yeah. Toward greater emotional and mental health and spiritual health. So it's been really sweet to do that. I do that through a private practice that I started about four years ago, and so it's been really awesome. To get to see God move through the work that I've done there as well.
[00:02:56] Speaker A: Nice. Awesome. And as a, as a shout out, Chelsea does do some work virtually. So if you're looking for a Counselor, go to HighlandsFamilyCounseling.com Is that it? Highlandsgvl Highlandsgvl.com Go to that website if you know it's. It's an ethical violation for your kids to go to counseling with one of your closest friends. But if that was not the case, Chelsea is. Who would I send my son to if he needed counseling? I trust her. I think she'd do an incredible job. I actually refer people to her all the time.
So, yeah, with that in mind, let's jump in.
[00:03:33] Speaker B: Yeah, sweet.
[00:03:34] Speaker A: So one of the things that, that I, one of the ways I like to think about spiritual and mental health is I like to say that our spiritual health and our mental or emotional health are separate things, but they're not separable.
So they, they are different parts of ourselves. But we can't, we can't deal with one without dealing with the other. You know, like, you got two arms, they're separate, but they're both part of your body, you know.
But I would like to know from your perspective, Chelsea, in this unique place where you teach the Bible and you're a mental health professional, how, where have you seen first off, the overlap between mental and spiritual health? But where also have you specifically seen the teachings that we see in scripture confirmed in the world of mental health, in psychology or health science, that type of thing? Where are you seeing the overlap?
[00:04:24] Speaker C: Yeah, I think, I think completely across the board. I'm probably the, the far other side to say, yeah, they are, they are very much inseparable because our mental emotional health affects our physical health. That affects our spiritual health, vice versa. You know, when you, you know what it feels like to break a leg and to deal with the mental setback that that can be. You know, these things are integrated. And it was God's good design in his creation of us to give us these different parts of our functioning. And so I think, you know, there is a theory of counseling called cognitive behavioral therapy. And it's a widely practiced evidence based model of therapy. And really the premise of it is that what I think affects what I do.
So I think there's a pretty direct tie to any time in scripture we see, whether it's in the New Testament or even in the Old Testament, Anytime we're called to take our thoughts captive, anytime we're called to, you Know, think on these things. I think those are really evident ties. But I think even beyond that, as we see God show emotion in Scripture, as we see through the Old Testament, through the New Testament, and Jesus walking with people, mourning, rejoicing, you know, what we are called to do, I think we also see that we have a God who created us really intentionally with emotion because he is emotional. And so that is kind of an undeniable overlap that I think should impact the way that we interact with those things in our lives.
[00:06:23] Speaker A: Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, yeah. God is emotional first off, like that. Yeah. He gets angry, he mourns. Jesus weeps, weeps for Jerusalem. He compares himself to a mother hen who wants to gather his chicks.
So it's something you said that I want to pause and highlight for a second. You said if you break your leg, there's going to be a mental setback that comes with that. It's something that I hear, I notice in people all the time, and I have a tendency to do it myself is to just to imagine that we're not emotional. We just don't have, you know, I, I am even keeled.
[00:07:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:02] Speaker A: I don't have mental health problems. I don't have emotional problems.
And to imagine that in any. If I get physically hurt, then I'm just going to push through it. But you're exactly right. Like if your physical body gets hurt, it's going to affect your sense of hope, your sense of purpose in the world. If you're a rancher in Wyoming and you break your leg so you cannot ride the four wheeler out to get in the cattle, then like, that's going to affect your sense of purpose and accomplishment. It's probably going to affect the way you interact with other people. You know, like whatever it is you do, if you in any way find any sort of sense of meaning from your work, then your sense of meaning is going to be affected, which is an emotional health reality, by anything that happens physically.
So even if, even if you look at your life and you don't find yourself heavily swayed emotionally in a day in, day out, maybe that's how you define, you know, not being an emotional person. You don't feel like you're in highs and lows. That doesn't mean that you're not an emotional person. Because as a full human being, we're.
[00:08:07] Speaker B: We'Re created that way. Yeah, we have this.
[00:08:09] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. They're, they're not separate things.
[00:08:11] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:11] Speaker A: Like you're saying, that's awesome. Yeah, yeah. That's really helpful.
So, so that in this series, what we've really been focusing on is community and relationships. That's been the whole overarching narrative. Basically every sermon we've preached for the month of January, the application has been join a life group, get into community. Yeah.
So from your perspective, specifically in the role of mental in the world of mental health, where do you see community and healthy relationships as part of spiritual and emotional health?
[00:08:49] Speaker C: Again, totally inseparable. So I'm going to say, yeah, I'm probably the, the, the far other side to say I believe that we.
It's actually one of the main reasons why I went to do marriage and family therapy and not just professional counseling.
There are this varies kind of state to state, but there are differences in how those licenses practice that work. Because I believe that we are systemic, created people and that we don't function in isolation, and if we do, we're suffering and that we are part of systems. So whether that is, you know, system in your workplace, whether that is your family, whether that is, you know, whoever you interact with on a regular basis, you are part of a system. And certainly the church is as well. And so we have to focus, we have to talk about our relational health because our relationships are a core part of who we are as individuals. That if I am a person that exists, I'm probably going to struggle without a friend. I'm going to struggle without community. I'm going to struggle without support, without a lot of things.
[00:10:33] Speaker B: This has just been fresh my mind because I've listened to a. A memoir about a girl who lived in a very dysfunctional household community.
And you talked about being like, there's, you can be alone or you can be in community. Is there, have you noticed any difference in someone who lives alone or someone who's in a dysfunctional community compared to a healthy community?
Is there. Both are bad. I mean, people need to be in a healthy community where they can share and live together and experience that. But have you noticed, like, the differences between those two? Like being just a lone, lone person or like being in a dysfunctional community?
[00:11:16] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. I think the biggest, you know, for individuals who are alone or maybe want to be. Want to be alone. So maybe they've separated themselves or maybe they've just found themselves there through life circumstances and things. But, you know, withdrawal and isolation are two of the primary kind of symptoms that we see in depression. So clinical depression, um, those are huge markers of that, where you really cut yourself off intentionally or find that you have been cut off or are cut off. From other people. Um, so there are certainly, you know, very significant impacts that happen when people find themselves or desire to live in isolation, kind of separated from other people. Uh, when it comes to, like, dysfunctional systems like you were talking about, there is a, Again, a theory of counseling practice called attachment theory. And this really says that we, in order to function as healthy adults, we have to have healthy attachments, both in adulthood and those start in childhood. So, you know, for individuals who don't have healthy caregivers, you know, they're either not present, or the caregivers or parents who were present were neglectful, abusive, absent, you know, whatever those things are, that creates. That changes actually the way that the brain develops. And so that even if that individual were to grow and to want to be part of relationships or systems, they're going to be impacted by what relationship and attachment looked like when they were growing up. And so that's a huge indicator for someone's general health. Certainly mental, emotional, but physical, certainly spiritual. You know, we know from a spiritual place how attachment impacts there as well. If people have an absent father, it's hard to see God as heavenly Father, you know, so there are things that, you know, even when we see relationships defined in scripture, how God created family, how he created structures like that, they are relevant for our spiritual life, certainly, and they are relevant to all the other elements of our functioning.
[00:13:56] Speaker A: Yeah.
Yeah, that makes sense. So as I'm. As I'm listening to you, what I'm. What it sounds like to me and want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly is basically, community is a basic part of human design and human health. So the absence of community or unhealthy community is in itself and un. Unhealth.
So I guess the way I'm thinking of it is like, if you find yourself. Whether you find yourself alone on purpose because you're trying to isolate yourself, or whether you find that that has happened to you and it's not, you know, it's not necessarily your fault. Let's say that.
That it's still, no matter what, a lack of health. So if you. If you look at your own life and you think of yourself as the per. As a person who I. I just don't really need other people.
[00:14:45] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:14:46] Speaker A: You know, I just. I like to go it. I like to go it alone. I like to do. Do it my own way, then that's probably in some way a symptom of. Or at least an indicator of a lack of relational. Of basic human health. You know, in. In the same way that it's kind of like, well, if you're the type of person that's just like, well, I don't really like to eat green stuff, so I never do. It's like, okay, well, that' decision. But also, you better be taking a multivitamin, because for human health, you need diverse nutrients in your diet. Right.
So that's. It indicates if you're not eating that way, that there's something unhealthy going on. It indicates if you're. If you're living your life isolated, that something unhealthy is going on. Is that. Am I understanding you right?
[00:15:28] Speaker C: Yeah, I would say 100. And I think all social sciences, sociology, psychology, really support, you know, this idea that we don't function well alone. And I think for someone who might say, well, you're not living my life. You don't know. You don't know where I am or what my life has looked like, then maybe it's been this cultural understanding of, well, this is just all I've known, or this is. This is what my life looks like. And maybe that's different from someone else.
And maybe those individuals would say they haven't risked the vulnerable part of being in community because it is, you know, relationships are vulnerable. Any relationship of any substance requires authenticity and trust. And these things that are hard for us, even as human beings, to.
In our design, to want to step into. So I think sometimes maybe we live in isolation or outside of community out of fear of the unknown or fear of that vulnerability that comes when we are known, when we are truly known.
[00:16:50] Speaker A: Yeah.
Yeah, that's just a couple weeks ago, in a sermon, I referenced the C.S. lewis quote. To love at all is to be vulnerable. If you want to avoid love, don't even. Don't even give your heart to an animal. Lock it away.
Surround it with hobbies and things you can control. But then he says, you know, you've created a coffin, basically. Obviously, I'm paraphrasing his quote hugely, but you've put it into a coffin, and it will shrivel and it won't break, but it will become unbreakable. It's, you know, it's kind of a. I think I watched a movie or show recently where this was a theme, but I can't think of what it was. But it is a. Oh, no, it's a book I'm reading right now. I'm reading an old cowboy novel because I'm a nerd and.
But in the storyline, there's a kid who, at a very young age, he Lost his mother and he was detached from his father and he bounced around from home to home. So one of the primary themes is that he doesn't expect, he expects to be sent away and he doesn't attach anywhere he expects to be sent away. Which, when you see that in a, you know, seven year old, in a story, you know that that's a symptom of unhealth. Right. You feel compassion towards that child, but also to reflect the vulnerability that comes in that another thing in the story was one of the people who becomes consistent for him passes away in the story.
And so he begins to trust in a, in something that's going to be sustainable and something outside of his control causes it to end. Which is an indication of the vulnerability that you're talking about. Like even if you're not intentionally building intimacy with someone, anytime you have any sort of relational expectation with another person for them to not show up is it harms in some, it's going to be perceived as harm against your expectations. You know, any whether even if it's just a coworker, you're supposed to be there and you have some sort of consistency. There's a vulnerability where if you need that other person to get your job done, if that person doesn't show up. And so in every area of relationships there is some degree of vulnerability. So it's just natural to say that the more intensely, the more deeply you get into relationship, the higher the risk of vulnerability. Yeah, but. So I'm kind of skipping ahead in my notes here, but I think there are probably a lot of people who would listen to this and they would say, okay, well I have been hurt before and it just doesn't really seem worth it. Like I, I can deal with being alone, I know how to manage that.
So why would I risk the unknown vulnerability of community when I'm comfortable with the known vulnerability of being alone? You know what I mean? What would you say to a person like that, Chelsea?
[00:19:37] Speaker C: Yeah, I would say both that trusting again is probably one of the hardest things that you can do.
When we've been hurt in relationship, when we've been hurt really by anybody, trying to trust again is really hard and really painful because it's our survival instinct to protect against that hurt and against that harm. And so we have to walk out all of these steps of figuring out, you know, why is where I am now not where I was then.
Why. What's different about where I am now than where I was then.
But I think the other side of that is to know that we are not living, we're not living our, our healthiest mental, emotional life or our, our healthiest spiritual life when we're doing that alone. Because we are. Whether it's acknowledged or not, there is a mental and emotional impact to live outside of community and there is a spiritual impact to live outside of something that God has clearly instructed his church to do for generations and generations.
So there's great difficulty and a clear call to do the harder thing.
[00:21:06] Speaker B: Do you, do you feel like I've heard this, I heard a couple pastors say this before, that we're, we live in the most connected time ever, but we're the most lonely we've ever been. Do you see that, do you see that as like people use that excuse now? Like while I'm on social media, I'm catching with a ton of people, I don't need this type of community. We're talking about like it's a substitute, but it's not a, a real substitute of what they, what we as humans really need.
And is there, is there any insight of like why we should not seek maybe the online connectedness, but seek actual personal, intimate connectedness?
[00:21:48] Speaker C: Yeah. 100. 100.
You know, I think we can go back and hold on to what life looks like in 2020, you know, when we were living virtually pretty, pretty completely for at least a time, depending on where you are in the country and to remember. And this would just be something that each of us personally would, could attest to. But what did it feel like, you know, to be separated from, you know, maybe my co workers, maybe my church, maybe my friends, you know, people are, are driving to large parking lots and parking their cars six feet away from each other to see human beings in person. Right. So it tells us, that tells us something that there's a difference between what it looks like to have real life relations, relationship where I'm gonna go to coffee with somebody or we're gonna grab a meal or watch a movie in the same space, then doing that virtually, you know, the two of you feel different right now being in the same room than I do, you know, separated. So even now, like we feel the difference for sure. And so it's a beautiful thing to be connected time zones away, maybe worlds away, depending on what you're connections look like. But, but dangerous. Because if we think that that replaces community or replaces what it means to be in the presence of another human being.
[00:23:22] Speaker B: Yeah, it doesn't. It does not.
[00:23:24] Speaker A: Yeah. I think I want to point something out because if you're watching this on YouTube. You're watching it on the Church 307 channel, this right behind me, which is our online church platform for the state of Wyoming. And one of the things that we say a lot is that if online church is the only church you have, that it's better than no church, but it's not a substitute for healthy community. Yeah. And that. That just needs to be stated that, you know, if you live, you know, in a town in Wyoming with 25 people in it and there's no place for community church, please watch Church 307 every week.
[00:24:00] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:24:01] Speaker A: But it would still be a good idea to find your neighbor and invite them to watch Church 307 with you. Yeah. So that you've got real community. If you find yourself in a city where you feel isolated and watching Church 307 online, you send an email to fill out one of the new here cards for Church 307. We can drop that into the show notes, fill that out, and we will find out, based on our metrics, whether there are other people watching from your region and see if we can set something up for you to get connected.
Yeah, it's. If virtual is the first step in your community engagement, that's great. Oh, yeah. If it's the last step in your community engagement, then that's not great. So we're so happy for everyone that joins online, and we hope that it spurs you into real connection with other human beings.
And, Chelsea, I'm curious if.
If there are any. Any symptoms, anything in your mind that indicates unhealth, relational unhealth, isolation, something like that in someone's life.
[00:25:05] Speaker C: So kind of the evidence of that is what you're asking?
Yeah.
I think the more we.
The more we isolate, the more my perspective and what I think and how I see something becomes ingrained because it's the only one I'm hearing and seeing and getting.
So there's a lot of beauty and a lot of value that we miss. If we're just listening to my. If I'm only listening to my own thoughts and the way that I see things.
So I think mentally, you know, that that's gonna really kind of reinforce wherever I am. And by nature of being alone, I'm not going to be in a great place.
So it's not like I'm naturally always right. So I don't need anyone else's perspective anyway. So it doesn't matter if I'm alone.
By nature of what it is to be alone, to be isolated, to be withdrawn, I'm going to be missing something that's really critical to my health.
I would say, you know, when we find ourselves in repeated thoughts and unknowns, that's kind of where anxiety takes root and takes, takes its place there.
And it's job. The whole reason why we feel anxious about something is that it's trying to help us prepare for something that we don't know yet or walk out some unknown. And if I can feel like I can handle it, then it's, then I'm okay. Except it's always a perpetual loop and I can get stuck there really easily if I don't have someone else else to help me say, hey, but did you think about it like this? Or what if that's actually not true but you've been holding on to that? What if this other thing could be true?
And that's what I have the, the privilege of doing in a lot of different people's lives is for individuals who have separated themselves and maybe the things that they've been holding to and clinging to are just not true. And so I think relationally, you know, when we find ourselves in isolation, it's, it's much easier for us to think that my, the way I see this is the right way as the only way.
And I think it's also easier for us to get comfortable there, which is really counter sits in line with what's comfortable for us because we, we like habits and we do the same things over and over again. And making a change and doing something differently takes more effort and it's harder for us to do that.
So I think the longer someone stays in isolation or alone outside of community, the harder it is for them to step into that for that reason too.
[00:28:09] Speaker A: That makes sense.
[00:28:10] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:28:11] Speaker A: So would you say that not changing your mind very often would be kind of an indication that maybe not the only indication. You know, it's, it's like any sickness, one symptom doesn't diagnose something, but it's a symptom. And that would indicate we're living in isolation or we're not living in connection. If we just constantly think we're right and seek affirmation rather than being open to shifting perspectives, would that be, would that be a kind of a concise way of saying that's a symptom?
[00:28:44] Speaker C: Yeah, I would say so. And maybe even more than that, you know, maybe the absence of asking yourself why do I feel like that? Or why do I think that? Or you know, kind of looking for those outside influences or perspectives or evidence of am I right here or sure or am I. Not. Yeah, but, yeah, the inability to ask those questions would. Would be part of that.
[00:29:13] Speaker A: Yeah. I think spiritually, that something worth just pointing out here is repentance, which, if you follow Jesus, you understand that that's a core tenet of what we do. It's not something we did when we became Christians, but it's part of what we do as we grow as followers of Christ. And it means, in a literal sense, to change to people. Translate it as to change your mind or to change directions, but both of those are true. It's to. To see what I was thinking and doing and alter course and alter thought to. To change the direction.
So part of spiritual growth requires that we are changing our mind, that our. Our perspective and our thoughts should be shifting constantly. So just in general, spiritually, if I find that I haven't changed my mind on anything in a long time, then I should ask the question, am I actually living in repentance and am I actually seeking growth or am I resisting? And that would play into, you know, if I'm not living in community, if I've been. If I haven't changed my mind about community in a really long time, if I haven't subjected myself to, you know, differing opinions and been forced to actually consider whether a challenge might be true, then I should also ask the question, am I living in repentance and am I actively pursuing growth spiritually?
So it's not just to point out another one of those overlaps of my spiritual development and my emotional development. These are the same thing here. If I get more I get into relationships, the more I'm going to be open to being challenged and changed.
Yeah.
[00:30:50] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:30:51] Speaker A: Well, I've got a couple of.
A couple of things. I did this a little bit before, but I want to just see what you would say to certain objections that people have to community. And these objections, you know, are not directly, but definitely are based in things I hear.
So what would you say to someone that just says, hey, yeah, I'm busy. I've got. I've got a lot going on. Kids, sports, work.
I gotta have a life, too. I can't join a small group. I can't. I don't have time for community. As a. As a minister and as a therapist, what would you say to that person?
[00:31:32] Speaker C: Yeah, I would say you make time for things that matter to you.
So if there's heart, I mean, I think it starts in heart change. You know, the word giving you a desire for community and, you know, being obedient to that. It's Not.
I think in scripture, it's. It's not just, hey, if this feels right for you, if this is something that you want to do and be a part of, that's great, and it could be good for you. I think it's a really clear call to be a part of community and growing together. And that's not always really pretty with a bow on it. That sometimes that's really hard and challenging and should be. So I think, you know, we.
We have to see the need for that in our lives because you make time for things that matter to you.
[00:32:32] Speaker B: Yeah.
Yeah. What would you say to. To someone who is hesitant to. To join a community because they don't feel comfortable opening up emotionally, talking about things that maybe make them feel vulnerable?
Yeah, Well, I guess. What would you say to someone that has that reservation?
[00:32:53] Speaker C: Yeah, I would say just show up, you know, don't. I think it's okay to tell people, and hopefully there would be maybe an openness to say, you know, I don't really. I'm here, but I don't really want to talk about anything. Yeah.
And to be able to say, to be able to watch, you know, I think building trust with anybody is watching them be consistent, watching them do what they say they're going to do and walk it out. And so as you're showing up and letting people prove themselves to you in some way that, you know, it is actually emotionally safe to be in part of community that. That we are going to. It's not going to be perfect, but. Yeah, because we're. We fail and we fail one another, and we will. But I think being a part of community and hearing other people. Other people's vulnerability impacts my ability.
[00:33:56] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah, I could see that for sure.
[00:33:59] Speaker C: So actually, when you think about building relationship with somebody, think about meeting somebody for the first time, and you find out you're from the same town, and you wind up say, oh, yeah, my. My sister went to school there. Oh, yeah, I was there these years.
Oh, I think I know this person. Maybe your. Maybe your sister knows that person, too. We start. We just naturally do this. It's part of how we're created for connection. But the more open and vulnerable I am with someone else, the more they are willing to be vulnerable with me, ideally. Right.
So the more open I am with, you know, if I tell you an embarrassing story about myself, then maybe you're more willing to tell yours to me. Maybe.
[00:34:46] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:34:47] Speaker C: But it's not something that we just offer off the bat. So being a part of community Allows me to hear other people's vulnerability, their struggle, their need, and then mine doesn't feel like I don't belong anymore. Oh, wow. I actually am able to show up here authentically. Me struggling, needing, and it's okay.
[00:35:14] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:35:16] Speaker A: Awesome.
So what would you say to someone who says, I'm just not really an emotional person? That's just not me. I don't really want to. I don't. I don't really care about all that. I don't want to. I don't want to do all the feelings. Feeling stuff. You know, I. I just don't want to go to a life group where people talk about feelings, you know, which may or may not be almost an exact quote that I've heard eight to a thousand times. Yeah. I think I've heard that in the last few months.
Yeah. What would you say to that person?
[00:35:43] Speaker C: Yeah. Actually, maybe ironically, those are my favorite people to work with.
[00:35:47] Speaker A: Okay. Awesome.
[00:35:49] Speaker C: Because they start to realize that, and maybe it's that they've kind of pushed all that away long enough that they don't even notice when it shows up anymore.
But as they start to unpack, kind of, whether it's life or whether it's this one thing that makes them so angry, and it's actually not anger at all. But that's just the thing that keeps showing up.
That's typically the emotion that comes for us and sits on top of everything else.
They began to realize that they have all of these experiences and parts of themselves that have just kind of been lying dormant. They've just kind of been a part of their history that they didn't really feel like was impacting any part of them. But, you know, typically when those people come to me, they recognize there are things in their lives that are not going the way they want them to go.
And so I think for somebody who would say, yeah, emotions just aren't really my thing. Not an emotional person, just kind of who I am, you know, I would say, are you sure?
You know, are you sure there's nothing that ever makes you angry? Do you ever have joy over things? Do you ever.
What do you do when you, you know, do you find that you need to go be outside and go for a run or for a drive or. You know, we have responses to things in our lives, and whether we realize that there's an emotion driving that response or not, it doesn't mean it's not happening.
[00:37:28] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:37:28] Speaker C: It just means that we're not aware of it.
[00:37:30] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:31] Speaker C: So anybody who would tell me that they're not an emotional person. I would say you're kind of denying a whole part of how God created you and wired you.
[00:37:38] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, yeah.
[00:37:41] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:37:42] Speaker B: Yeah, that's. That's awesome.
[00:37:44] Speaker A: Yeah. This is really helpful, Chelsea, that. That actually gets us through my list of questions. But what. Do you have any kind of like wrap up closing thoughts, anything you'd like to say before we sign off?
[00:37:59] Speaker C: Yeah, I would say, you know, the more that we strive for health in these different places in our lives, even physically. Right, Even physically, they impact each other. And so knowing that we have a good creator who set us out and designed us for.
For relationship, you know, for community, for our good and his glory, the more, the more we will be able to thrive in our lives. I think that there are. There's a lot of. Of good that the Lord wants to work in and through us here. And we to do that need to be seeking to be well and inviting the Lord, you know, inviting the Lord to show us. How do I. What does it look like to be mentally well, emotionally well, physically well? And I think he calls us toward wellness in our lives and just being able to sit with another person and have a conversation around that or, or sit with the Lord and have a conversation around. That is a good starting point.
[00:39:22] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:39:22] Speaker B: That's great.
[00:39:23] Speaker A: Yeah. Thank you. What about you, Grant? Got any wrap up closing outro zingers?
[00:39:31] Speaker B: No, and I was zinger. I kind of go back to. You're talking about. We were talking about people who say they don't want to have that emotional thing. I've heard that response a ton too.
And it is funny because once you get to know that person, it's not. They. They don't want. They don't have emotions. I think they, A lot of them always relate emotions to like the crying or the sad or. But if you hang out with them, like they're super passionate about maybe a hobby and they're smiling when they're talking about it, they can be angry sometimes about things like those are still emotions and it's okay to have emotions like that. So I think like you're talking about having. Yeah, you talked about anger, joy, so that like. Yeah, it's not just like going to a community, going to a group and. And everyone's crying, you know, and so like that. It's like, no, we're celebrating things together. We're. We're just passionate about certain things. Like we want to hear about your hobbies, what makes you happy. Like, it's not.
Emotion is not just One thing, it's multiple feelings, you know.
[00:40:30] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah, that's great. Well, I, I want to say, just as the closing thought, I think in general, there may be two, like 2 Responses to Just this idea of getting emotionally healthy and getting into community. Some of us need to hear that community is going to be a safe place to be vulnerable and that like, whatever you're going through, whatever you're feeling, good, bad, ugly, it's going to be welcome there and you're not going to have to hide and it's, you're gonna, you're gonna find a place to get healthy there.
But there's another facet of us that I'm going to stereotype broadly here and say are a lot of dudes. But I think there are also some women that feel this way too. And we need to not be a wuss and get in community.
John Wayne said, courage is being scared to death and saddling up. Anyway, another way of saying that is that bravery requires vulnerability. If you're not vulnerable, you're not brave.
So there is emotional courage that it takes to get into community. So if you're the type of person that what you, what you needed to hear was this is safe, that's absolutely true. And you're going to be able to be yourself. But if you're the type of person that was thinking, ah, yeah, but I just, that's just not my thing.
Saddle up and join a community anyway.
Be brave, quit chickening out, get into community.
Both of those things are true. And wherever you're sitting on that, respond to whichever side of that application statement I said.
But community does require vulnerability. So if you like to hike mountains and hunt and shoot guns and stuff like that, then do the other brave thing and get with people who can actually know you because that's just a scary as climbing a mountain. So.
[00:42:20] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:42:22] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, Chelsea, thank you so much for taking time to do this. We really appreciate it. For everybody at New Life who's watching this, Chelsea will actually be preaching at New Life on Memorial Day weekend at the end of May, she and her family are going to come up and explore Wyoming with Jen, Josiah and I. Nice. For a week. And she's going to be preaching while she's here.
[00:42:44] Speaker B: Looking forward to that.
[00:42:44] Speaker A: So, yeah, it's going to be awesome. I'm stoked about that. And it's Highlands gvl.com. sweet. So if you, if you are interested in counseling with Chelsea, go there. If you're looking for in person counseling, if you think taking that step in your emotional health would be helpful, then please reach out to New Life C Ward at new life gillette.com Send me an email. We've got a list of recommended counselors that are local and regional that we can get you connected to as well.
And everybody's some people. Our next step is going to be counseling. Everybody's next step is going to be community. If you're not in it yet. So if you're not in a life group then, and you're part of New Life, then join a life group. If you're on church 307, we have a virtual life group group. Or you can invite a neighbor over and talk about faith and watch the services together. And you can start your own life group in whatever town you watch from. Yeah, everybody's next step is community if you're not already in it. So bam. Thanks for checking out Ecosystem. We will be back for our next series called Firm Foundations with another deep dive into what the world of scripture has to tell us about building our life on the foundation of Christ and his reality.
See you next time.
[00:44:04] Speaker B: Hey, later.
