The Power of Vulnerability: How Karen Mettam Found Her Voice | #147

In this episode of 'Milk and Honey with Lemon,' host Lemon welcomes guest Karen Medham, discussing Karen's journey of leadership development, financial freedom, and stepping into God's calling.

Karen shares her experience as a sign language interpreter and her path to writing a chapter in the book 'Restore My Soul,' aimed at bringing healing and restoration to women, especially within the church.

The discussion covers vulnerability, the impact of sharing personal stories, and the importance of moving beyond past traumas. Karen inspires listeners to embrace their stories and trust God with the process of healing and growth.

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Chapters

• 0:17 Becoming Proverbs 31 Women
• 10:56 Embracing Vulnerability and Sharing Stories
• 15:02 Empowering Women Through Sharing Wisdom

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:17

Hey, I'm Lemon. I am just like you, sister friend. Talk about stepping into that overflow that God has for us by becoming those ultimate Proverbs 31 women. Hey, I'm Lemon. I am just like you, sister friend. I knew God had something more in store for me, but I couldn't see a way out of the laundry piles and, frankly, I resented that. Proverbs 31 woman. How was I going to live up to the hype? That is until I found out how to really step into becoming this Proverbs 31 woman through leadership development. In this podcast, you're going to find financial freedom, leadership, growth and motivation so you'll be able to do all the things God has called you to do with ease and really step into that land of milk and honey.

Speaker 2: 0:59

Welcome back to the Milk and Honey Podcast. I'm your host, lemon Price, and today I'm really excited because I have my friend Karen Medham with me. Karen was one of the authors with me in the Restore my Soul book and I wanted to talk to her about her story and the process and all those kind of fun things. Thank you for being here, karen.

Speaker 3: 1:16

You're welcome. It's amazing. Thank you for being here, that's all. I love, I need more coffee, just right off the bat. Let's just I need more coffee today.

Speaker 2: 1:25

I always need more coffee. I've only had one cup so far today and I'm like I could use another. To be honest, I love it. I love it, and it's like Karen's five hours ahead of me, so if she really could use like an afternoon, pick me up One more. Of course, where's Tim? Tell Tim to bring you a cup.

Speaker 3: 1:46

No, I think. Where's Tim?

Speaker 2: 1:47

tell Tim to bring you a cup, no it seems at work so he'll be like, no, don't bother me, I love her husband. They have the funniest dynamic. I love the two of them together. If you ever have a chance to be in a room with Karen and her husband, you should, because they are so funny and they're just so in love with each other and it's so sweet and I just I love watching you two together. It warms my little heart. Okay, karen, tell us about you and why you picked the story you did. Can you tell I don't want you to give away all of the secret of your chapter, but talk about it and why you picked that specific time frame to write about?

Speaker 3: 2:22

so I've worked as a sign language interpreter for 25 years over here in the UK and I really felt that God was calling me a few years ago to say I'm calling you to bring your message to your people, to just help bring healing. And I'd always had a thing of wanting to write a book book. But actually taking that thought to actually being able to go through the process to write it, to hold it in your hand, is a different thing. So I'm like no, I really want to get this out on paper, because I wanted my story to be a sort of healing for women, especially women in the church, because I think some of the things that I've gone through I think a lot of people would resonate with but, like me, kept it a secret and kept shame over it for a long time. And so that's why I chose to wrote the story that I did at that particular part of my life and it was so healing going back and writing that and just thinking god, you're so good, you've brought me through so much and you are so good.

Speaker 3: 3:35

And I think what impacted Tim as much as anything, he sat down and read it and he's I have never read it. He says I have never read that in its entirety of just what you went through. He says I've heard snippets of it in different parts of things that you've shared. He says but I've never sat down and read that in one go. So yeah, and that kind of made me think, oh, I'm on the right track with this.

Speaker 2: 4:00

Then I kind of love that because I know Glenn had a similar experience reading my chapter. He was like I've heard parts of your story but actually reading it it like changed a little bit. Has it been the same for you, like, with Tim reading your story, and I know your son read your story too?

Speaker 3: 4:17

yeah, I know, and I think, because I'd never shared any of this with my sons, my eldest knew a little bit about it, but he didn't know full details of some of the things that I've been through. But I think it really impacted my youngest son more than anything, because as soon as he got the email with the book attached to it, he went straight to my chapter, read through it and he sent me the most beautiful message saying Mom, I had no idea that you'd been through that and you're so, so strong and courageous and I'm so sorry about I didn't realize what you're doing with Girl Power Alliance. I thought it was just another kind of business that you were getting involved in. I didn't realize that he's going to be changing lives through it.

Speaker 2: 5:06

Yeah, I was going to say he just joined you here.

Speaker 2: 5:09

He added everything to you, but I would love to know how it felt like being so vulnerable. I think it's easy to be vulnerable with strangers, right, like I have no problem with strangers joining this chapter, and like burying my soul to them. But it's like when my husband read it and like when my friends have read it, I'm oh you, you know me now. It's like a different level of intimacy. How is that scary, to put it in. Did you question putting certain things in your chapter because of it? I'd love to know your thought process there.

Speaker 3: 5:40

I think it was interesting, and I think I mentioned last weekend that it's like you said, sharing it with strangers is that I've been on so many podcasts and I've shared my story and, in some ways, not knowing the reach of that podcast, where it's going to go, who's going to listen to it, but just praying that he's going to bless somebody. But then when I'm like thinking, oh, there's going to be people reading this that knew me at the time that I was actually going through some of this and they probably wouldn't have known what I was going through either because I didn't tell anybody. And so it was really special because I had a friend reach out to me before I'd even said about doing this book and she's look, I'm so sorry for some of the things that went on as you were growing up through church, because this is where I was and some of my actions may have impacted on how you felt, and it was just this gorgeous place that God brought us to, of restoration, that's. But thank you so much for coming to me. So that was just a moment of just restoration and God saying I've got you in this, you're good, you're going to be good, and so I asked her to be on my book launch team and I'm like, look, I'm taking like a massive kind of breath in of, oh, now it gets to go out to people that know me. Okay, this is going to be interesting.

Speaker 3: 7:08

But also, I think more than anything, is trusting God with the outcome and trusting God with you. Know what happened my story? Some people may not, but in in everything, I never wanted this to be a story of what happened to me. I want this to be a story of how he can bring forgiveness and restoration and that, for me, that is the biggest part of the story. Throughout the whole chapter that I want people to get to realize. It's like he's got you in this. Whatever it is that you've been through, he's got you in it.

Speaker 2: 7:44

I love that and I think that is really beautiful, because I think that was about the act. Writing the chapter, too is. I want to tell you these very messy, raw, vulnerable pieces of my story, but I don't want it to read like a footy party. I want you to see the depths of where I've been so you can see where God brought me to now. I don't want you to read it and be like whoa yeah like she's been through something.

Speaker 2: 8:05

I want you to read it and be like whoa, yeah, like she's been through something. I want you to read it and be like, wow, like God brought her through things so she can share her story in this way and in this capacity. How is that for you like, how is that for you? Trying to make sure that it didn't read that way, let me make sure God's getting the glory in the story.

Speaker 3: 8:21

Yeah, I think it was really important what Molly actually said a while ago, and she said don't smell like the smoke of the fire that you've just walked through. And for me, that's. Am I writing this from a place of still being wounded, or do I know that God has completely restored me when? So I'm writing from the scars that have strengthened me, and so, for me, that is what that's the place that I'm writing from the scars that have strengthened me. And so, for me, that is what that's the place that I was writing from, and also saying about a pity party, and I think when you're having a pity party, it's sometimes you can I know I've done it before become self-indulgent and let me just stay here for a minute and then actually just just realizing do you know what? I don't have to live here because I don't have to wear my past as like a badge of honor. Look what I've been through. Sometimes you can speak to I call them Tommy toppers, and it's whoever you taught. And this, this is what I've been through. Oh yeah, this is what I did, and that's not what I ever want to go through. I never, ever want to say I'm pitching a tent here and I'm going to stay in the past, because it's no. Jesus died to save me from that. So he gets to move me into his glory and and in a constant, changing, constant journey of changing me into that and I think, just realizing that my past is my past, but I don't live there, I don't live in my past. It serves me to help me become the woman that I am today.

Speaker 3: 9:54

There is sometimes we wear our past like it's almost like for me it was almost like a comfort blanket, like when kids have got like really dirty, smelly comfort blankets and they will not let go of them and you can't even prise them out of the hands, try and wash them, because they're like this is my comfort blanket. And I remember God saying to me are you ready to let go of your past? Because you're holding onto it like a comfort blanket? And I remember God saying to me are you ready to let go of your past? Because you're holding on to it like a comfort blanket? And I'm like realized that actually some of the times I was saying I'm reacting like this because of what happened to me in my past and because of all this stuff that has happened in my past. That's why I'm reacting like this and God's? No, you're just being a brat. No, because if I've, because if Jesus died to come and save me, then my past was left at the foot of the cross.

Speaker 3: 10:47

So I was in this moment of oh, I just said that and I was just being mean and I was just being nasty and that had got nothing to do with my past. Because I'm now in a position of that comfort blanket has gone and I'm taking now full ownership of what I say, do, think, react, and that is all me and I'm like okay, god, then we need to work together, because I'm in the new season now of not blaming my past for the way that I am now. And it was just this gorgeous new season and just saying God wants to clothe us with righteousness, and he's got robes of righteousness, he's got clothes of praise and garments of praise. It's like, how can I put these on you when you've still got those rags that smell?

Speaker 3: 11:34

You need to get rid of those and walk into the fullness of what God's got for you and who you are in his identity as his daughter.

Speaker 2: 11:44

Karen, I love that. I think that comes across in your chapter because I run it, obviously, so I just love that's the place you're coming from, karen. If somebody's listening and they're like, okay, maybe I should tell my story, but they're like nervous about being vulnerable and sharing their story, what would you say to them, friend?

Speaker 3: 12:02

Everybody's got a story inside of them and I've been like beating this drum for years and it's like, whether it's a story, whether it's a song that they've written that they want to sing, whatever it is, maybe it's a piece of art that they want to just you know what I just want to do artwork Everybody's got a story in them. There's always somebody that's on the other side of your. Yes, I've already had people reach out to me and say thank you so much for sharing that, because I resonate so much with what you've shared and I've not spoken to anybody about what I've been through and by you sharing that, it actually gives permission to other people to access that place in their lives and even though, like our stories, are so different, there's what 14, 13, 14 different women that have wrote chapters in there. There's a golden thread that's running through the whole book of look at what God did, and so it is about that. Just trust God in it.

Speaker 3: 13:09

That's the biggest thing that I can say is that because your story is there to bless somebody else and and to bring freedom and to bring restoration to somebody else. And, yes, it's vulnerable, and especially if it's something that some people in your family might not even know that you've been through and it's trusting God with the process and using the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you're writing it and it's. No, I don't need to put that bit in, but I will put this bit in, and so even from that chapter that I've done, there gets to be more of a book in there, because even that was just bringing out so many things of what God has done and the glory that he gets to have. So I would say for anybody's thinking about, I really want to write. Then start writing. It's just put down your first sentence.

Speaker 2: 14:03

I love that, and I love that you also gave them permission to explore other mediums. Maybe it isn't fun, maybe it is a piece of art. However, it is that God's going to get the glory in your story, and however he created you to be, I talked to text my whole chapter, because that's just what I'm used to doing. It's the way God wired me. Shocker, I always got in trouble for talking too much, and so it makes sense that I would use talk to text to do my whole chapter, and so I just love that. You just gave them permission to go and explore creatively, like how God wants to use them, and so I'm just so grateful for you, karen.

Speaker 2: 14:38

I'm grateful for you sharing this story. I think you just did such a phenomenal and beautiful job with it. I'm really proud of you for being so vulnerable and sharing these intimate pieces with yourself, and I would just encourage everybody to still go get a copy on Amazon. It's a great book. I feel a little biased saying it's a great book, but it's a pretty great book. Go check it out and just thank you for being here. Karen friend, you're welcome. It's been a pleasure to be here.

Speaker 1: 15:06

Hey friend, what a joy it has been to share today's journey with you. If you found a spark of inspiration or a nugget of wisdom that resonated, would you bless someone else by sharing this episode with them? It could be the encouragement they need to step into their purpose and calling. Also, if you could spare a moment to leave a review, it would mean the world to me. I really appreciate your feedback and it really helps our community grow. Remember, the road to discovering God's call for you isn't one you have to walk alone. So join me again next Monday for another episode where we'll continue to explore the depths of leadership and the heights of our heavenly calling. Until then, keep seeking, keep growing and keep trusting in his plan. God bless you and I'll catch you on the flip side. Bye, friend.