Beautiful Prisons and Golden Lies [348]

Flying Free

Natalie Hoffman

Emotional, Narcissism, Christianity, Abuse, Religion & Spirituality, Spiritual, Christian, Self-improvement, Education, Divorce, Marriage

5 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 7 October 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if that golden cage you're sitting in was never locked? What if all that “God’s will” rhetoric was just fear cosplaying as holiness? In this episode, I tell you a story, a simple one with birds, bars, and just enough metaphorical mic drops to wake up the part of you that’s been sedated by religious gaslighting. Buckle up, buttercup. It’s time to talk about freedom.

This isn’t just another chirpy motivational talk. It’s a truth-telling, cage-rattling invitation to examine the lies we’ve been fed about safety, love, and obedience, especially in the name of God. You were made to fly, not decorate someone else’s spiritual furniture.

Key Takeaways:

The cage was never locked. You've been conditioned to think you're choosing it, but that choice was built on fear, not freedom.
That “protection” they sold you? It's control in disguise. And the house full of golden cages? It’s not a sanctuary. It's a system designed to keep you small, scared, and obedient.
Even your longing has been demonized. Longing is labeled sin. Discontent? A character flaw. But maybe it’s your soul whispering, “There’s more.”
Freedom is risky, but it’s real. There are storms and hawks and hard days out there. But there’s also wind, sky, stars, and the exhilaration of living unchained.
Jesus doesn’t lock cages. He flings those suckers open and says, “Come on out, sister. It’s time.”

Read the full show notes and/or ask Natalie a question here

Related Resources:

If today’s episode resonated with you, here are some others you may find helpful: “From Trapped to Free in 30 Days” and “Praying for a Miracle—When the Miracle Might Be You Walking Away.”

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, this is Natalie Hoffman of Flying FreeNow.com, and you're listening to the Flying Free Podcast,
0:08.9	a support resource for women of faith looking for hope and healing from hidden emotional and spiritual abuse.
0:17.6	Welcome to episode 348 of the Flying Free Podcast. Today I have a story for you. Once upon a time there was a house. And inside that house there was a cage, a bird cage. Actually, there were many bird cages, but let's just zero in on one.
0:39.3	Yours.
0:41.3	The cage was beautiful.
0:42.3	I will give them that.
0:44.3	Golden bars catching the light.
0:46.3	Look at that lovely cage, the big people would say when they saw.
0:52.3	That bird is so blessed. And you believed them, at first. The big people told you
0:59.9	this cage was your creator's design for you, his protection, his will. If you wanted to please
1:07.6	your creator and, oh, how desperately you wanted to please him you would stay right
1:13.4	where you were safe contained good they painted pictures of the world outside your bars
1:24.0	predators lurked there they warned storms would you. Evil waited in every shadow,
1:30.3	ready to devour reckless little birds who dared to leave their cages. You heard whispered stories
1:37.3	about those who flew away and were never seen again. So you stayed. Your wings grew soft. Your flight muscles weakened. The rhythm of your
1:48.7	days became predictable, comfortable even. You told yourself you were grateful. You should be grateful.
1:55.4	This was love, wasn't it? This was safety. But sometimes, just sometimes, you caught a glimpse of sky through the window,
2:06.0	wide and endless and calling to something deep in your chest, something that felt suspiciously like
2:14.1	longing. The voices were quick to shut that down. Temptation, they said. Discontent is sin.
2:22.6	You have everything you need right here. You weren't the only one. The room was full of golden cages,
2:31.7	each one housing a bird just like you. Each door cracked open. Always open,
2:39.5	they reminded you. See, you're not trapped. You're choosing this. And when your daughters were old
	...

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