Sometimes, we can try to cover up our past pain with that which we can control-achievement, performance, and productivity. But at some point, those coping mechanisms cannot mask the hurt we are feeling deep inside anymore. What do you do when what you've done to run from your past no longer works to hide what you're truly feeling? For Dr. Elizabeth (Ellie) Stevens, there came a point when what she did to keep the pain from her childhood sexual abuse at bay, no longer worked. She found that she could no longer hide behind performance and her achievements and instead had to face what was below the surface. It took another string of traumas including a sexual assault and traumatic brain injury to bring up the ache she had been ignoring, but when she did, she found that God invited her towards something new: freedom. Even when her poor decisions heaped shame on top of all she was enduring, she was able to start to experience the depth of God's love in the middle of the mess of emotions she was enduring. Now, as a psychiatrist, trauma survivor, and veteran, Dr. Stevens has taken what she has learned in her own journey to help veterans and first responders in theirs. In this conversation, Davey talks with Dr. Stevens about how we often use achievement and performance to cope with our past, the power of God shown through our weakness, and how trauma can help us move from conditional to unconditional love. If you find yourself trying to hide your past pain through achievement and performance and you are ready to experience the freedom God has for you, this episode will encourage you that God wants to release you from that which threatens to hold you back. Website: www.drelizabethstevens.com www.advancingwarriors.org Book: Unshackled: Finding God's Freedom from Trauma Don't miss out on an incredible, life-changing trip with Davey to Israel, May 29-June 6, 2023! Register today at: www.nothingiswasted.com/israel Have you ever wondered why God seems silent in your suffering? Join us on February 16th at 8pm EST for our next masterclass called God's Silence in Our Suffering: Seeing Him Move When You Can't Hear His Voice. Sign up today at: www.nothingiswasted.com/masterclass   Are you ready to go from pain to purpose? Partner with God to take back your story. Check out the Pain to Purpose Course: www.course.nothingiswasted.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices