You Don't Have to Heal Alone: Why Community Is Essential in a Destructive Relationship Have you ever sat in a church pew, heard a message about forgiveness or submission, and walked away feeling more trapped than before — wondering if something was deeply wrong with you for still feeling unsafe? You are not alone, and this episode is for you. Leslie sits down with Kelly Yazzie, our community manager in Conquer, for a raw and deeply honest conversation about why belonging to a safe, faith-based community is not a luxury for women in destructive relationships — it is a lifeline. Together they explore the scriptures that have been misused to keep women silent and stuck, how to hold onto a good God when the system fails you, and why real transformation only happens when information is met with courageous, supported practice. If you have been burned by community before, if you are questioning God's goodness in the middle of an unjust situation, or if you are simply exhausted from trying to figure this out alone, this conversation will meet you exactly where you are. Key TakeawaysMisapplied Scripture Has Kept Too Many Women Stuck — and That Is Not God's HeartVerses about forgiveness, mercy, and love covering sin have been pulled out of context in ways that pressure women to protect their abusive husbands from consequences and silence their own experience. Kelly unpacks Ephesians  You Are the Steward of You — And That Is Not Selfishness, It Is FaithfulnessOne of the most important truths in this episode is that no pastor, elder, counselor, or husband holds authority over your own welfare. Drawing from the sobering story in First Kings 13 — where a man of God is sidetracked by the counsel of another who claimed to speak for God — Kelly and Leslie remind women that others do not live in your home, and they do not live with the results of their counsel. You are the expert of your own situation. Learning to hear God's voice directly, trusting your God-given intuition, and reclaiming ownership of your own life is not rebellion; it is spiritual maturity and faithfulness to the person God created you to be. When God Doesn't Fix It: Separating the Facts from the StoryWhen a protection order is denied despite evidence of abuse, when a custody battle is lost by a mother who did everything right, the anguish is real — and so is the temptation to write a story about what that means about God. Leslie and Kelly walk through the critical practice of distinguishing the facts of a situation from the story we tell ourselves about why it happened. Asking "why did God do this?" often leads us into the same trap as Job's friends — assigning blame and shame where neither belongs. The more life-giving question is: what do I need from this? Where can I grow? How is God meeting me here? God is light; there is no darkness in Him at all, even when circumstances are painfully dark. Community Is Where Transformation Actually HappensInformation alone — no matter how biblical, how wise, or how perfectly taught — does not produce transformation. It is the practice, the support, the application inside a safe relational space that changes a woman from the inside out. Kelly describes how women in Conquer learn to use their voice, try new boundaries, share their failures without shame, celebrate their wins without apology, and eventually turn around to support someone just a few steps behind them. Relational trauma is healed in relationship, and a community where your humanity