Stories at The Well
WELL STORIES
When Surrender Becomes Sending
Six years ago, I arrived in Austin grieving and alone. Today, I'm preparing to go to the nations as a missionary, convinced that the God who healed her is worthy to be proclaimed.
Six years ago, I moved to Austin as a newly divorced empty nester. My heart was broken, and I was wrestling with my identity and how to live without my family close by. In that painful season, I cried out to God, asking Him to show me where I could find community. He answered that prayer by leading me to The Well, where I found not only friendship, but a spiritual family that welcomed me and walked with me.
As I got involved in Mission Intensives, DMI, and an STM trip, I kept choosing to say yes to God. Each small step of obedience opened another door. I went through Inner Healing Prayer and other helpful resources. Through those experiences, God began reshaping how I saw myself. I was learning, often for the first time, who God says I am.
Eventually, God opened the door for me to work in ministry with a nonprofit that serves people who are socially isolated, helping them draw closer to Him and find community. As I served, I began to recognize that I shared many of the same struggles as the people we were reaching. One night at a worship gathering at The Well, a woman approached me and said God had prompted her to pray for me. She shared that He showed her I was broken and in need of healing.
After she prayed, I went home weeping, aware that God was gently revealing something deeper He wanted to heal.
I began asking God where that healing could be found. He kept pointing me toward Recovery at The Well, but I resisted. I did not want to admit that I was weak or that I could not fix my own life. Yet God, in His mercy, continued calling me to surrender. Eventually, I reached the place where I could say, “I can’t save myself. Only Jesus can.”
I can’t save myself. Only Jesus can.
Through Recovery, God revealed that I had been carrying unforgiveness toward myself and that shame had kept me from fully receiving His love. As I surrendered and forgave myself, He replaced shame and anxiety with peace and freedom. Healing came, and from that place, I was able to point others to the One who heals.
One Sunday, after a sermon about the cross, the Lord gave me a vision. I saw myself running away from Jesus, and He ran after me, caught me, and pulled me close. I saw us as one, like a tree with deep roots and strong branches, and my grandchildren were playing in those branches. God was showing me that He is not only redeeming my life. He is redeeming generations.
This past summer, I joined Immersed, an inner healing and deliverance prayer group, where I began learning about the Holy Spirit and prayer in a new way. I started asking the Holy Spirit to fill me so that He could pour out through me. One ordinary Tuesday in my kitchen, I spoke the words, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” In that moment, the Holy Spirit moved powerfully, and I began to weep. I knew God was calling me to be bold and to share the gospel.
Since then, I have shared the gospel with others, witnessed someone come to Christ, spoken publicly about Jesus, and even baptized a new believer. God has been stirring my heart for the nations. Recently, I stood during a missions conference, committing to follow His call wherever He leads. As I stood, the prayer spoken over us was that we would be like trees bearing good fruit.
I have seen God’s goodness, His faithfulness, and His abounding love over and over again. When I surrendered, abided in Him, and stepped out in faith, He moved. He took my brokenness and turned it into purpose. As I began walking in His calling, deep joy and freedom followed. This is the abundant life Jesus promises, a life fully rooted in Him and lived for His glory.
When I was 19, God planted a seed in my heart to join the Peace Corps, but fear kept me from taking that step. Now, at age 56, that seed has grown into a clear calling. This April, I plan to attend a Missionary Discipleship Training School as I take the next steps toward becoming a full-time missionary. God is sending me to the nations to build His kingdom, and I am ready to say yes.
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