Season 1 (Episode 2): My Testimony: My Passion

Welcome to Pain, Passion, and Purpose.

I am your host, Shakeeta Torres, where I share mental health education, biblical teachings, and tips to help you to heal on purpose so you can walk boldly in your God-given purpose. This podcast is sponsored by Empowered Purpose Academy, a certified online Christian academy where where we provide services such as certification for Christian life coaches, mentorship for master's level aspiring and existing Christian therapists, mentorship for Christians, and continued education courses for the body of Christ. You can visit www.empoweredpurposeacademy.com to learn more and to download your free guide. If you like today's episode, please subscribe and leave us a raving review so that others can tap into the knowledge and wisdom that will be shared on this podcast.

Thank you so much for being here.

Hey, so before I get started on today's episode, if you have not subscribed to the paid membership of my podcast community, please do. It is going to bless your life. Listen, my episodes are already like therapy slash coaching sessions where I give you strategy and insight and all that good stuff. But the community, you're going to get a lot more. You're going to get more resources, more tools, and be able to ask more questions where I can create episodes around your questions. And you will be able to get discounts on some of my, my products and my events. So what are you waiting for? The price is very affordable. This is for those who are not quite ready to invest in one-on-one coaching with me or into the Pain, Passion, and Purpose mentorship program, which is also low, by the way, but that one is a lot more in-depth. You get access to courses, you get access to the Facebook community, and all that good stuff. But this is for those who just need to just listen and just gain some tools along the way. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead, subscribe. You won't regret it. It'll bless your life. We'll have topics around mental health and faith, biblical teachings, prayer, um, boundaries, communication, anxiety, depression, purpose, and so much more. I have had experience in mental health since actually about 2008 when I first finished my bachelor's program, and then from that point all the way up today and moving forward, I have gained so much so much experience, so much wisdom, and I am anointed for it. So go ahead, hit that button, and I hope to see you in the community.

Hey, you guys, welcome back to my podcast. I'm so excited. I received so much feedback about my first episode of my podcast, and I cannot be happier about the response, about the listeners. Thank you all so much for listening to my story. I'm definitely not ashamed of my story. I'm very proud of where I came from. I'm very proud of the woman that I am today. And so today I'm gonna go right on into passion. Passion, passion, passion. Every time I think about the word passion, I think about Christ, because Christ is so passionate about us. He loves us so very much. Even though at times we feel like we don't deserve God's love, he loves us past our flaws, past our hurt, past our pain, past whatever it is that we're going through, he loves us. And so first I want to start by sharing with you all the definition of passion. So passion means strong feeling or emotion, an object of someone's love, liking, or desire, or strong liking or desire. So that is the general definition of the word passion. Okay, so typically something you are passionate about can sometimes be what really makes you angry or what triggers you to want to help when you see it or hear about it. For example, for myself, I'm very passionate about people in general, about God's people, specifically people who are broken, people who are hurt, people who need a touch from the Lord. And it's interesting because, you know, In my first podcast, I explained to you all about my past traumas, and in that, I felt like the social workers who were in my life did not do a good job at making sure my siblings and I were safe. There were times whenever we would call them ourselves or share with them what my aunt was doing to us, and she threatened to hurt them.

And guess what?

They left and never came back. I only had one social worker that was amazing. I never forget her name. Her name is Terry. I don't know where she is. I don't know, um, you know, her last name or anything, but I remember she was a redhead Caucasian lady, and she was there for us after our mom passed away. So, I mean, she was there in the room whenever, um, they had to tell my siblings she had passed away, and she was, she was very present in my life, um, even with having to go to court to testify against my abuser, she was there. Um, and so I thank God for her, and she really did make an impression on me. And so I always said that I wanted to be a social worker, and you know, I wanted to do it better than the other people that were in my life. And so I went to school. I went to school with USC Pembroke and got my bachelor's degree, and I became a social worker. My first job was at Robeson County DSS. I have been working there— I worked there for 3, almost 3 years, and I saw some of everything. Most of what I saw were things that I had been through myself. And so here I am, maybe, you know, about 22. This is around the same time I gave my life to Christ as well. Um, the woman of God that was in my office, God used her to sow seeds into me, and she's the one that brought me to Christ. And so we actually worked together for a couple of years. Um, before I transitioned out of that job. And so even in that job, you know, I saw there was like so much turnover and so much, you know, so many clients coming in and out the system over and over again, like a cycle. And that really bothered me. And not only that, some of the workers there talk real, you know, talk badly about these women who were in these situations, and it made me angry. Oh, I used to get so upset because I'm like, we're supposed to be here helping them. And I understand that people, you know, are, you know, like, you know, like they keep coming back to into the system.

But why?

Why are they coming back to the system? And it's simple, okay? First of all, there's, there's such thing as generational curses, um, generational trauma. Um, being, you know, not having the support you need, not understanding your worth. And so I'm like, who is speaking life into these families? Who is speaking life into these women, into these children? You know, most of the social workers that I work with, I don't really know their work ethic. Then, um, a couple of them I knew very well, and they pray, and she prayed for them a lot. And so I pretty much followed suit into what she was doing. I might not have always prayed for them, you know, with them, but in my private time I would pray for them. And so I was there for 3 years, as I was saying before, and you know, I couldn't stay there much longer because I was tired. I was so tired. I lived in court every other week, so I'm very familiar with testifying, having to prepare court reports, and I was very good at it, but I just didn't like it anymore. And I was able to help a lot of families, and I truly believe that I made an impact on so many people's lives. Jobs during my time there. And so that's what really pushed me to go to grad school. And so I ended up going to grad school, and I got my master's degree in social work. Now, mind you, in the process of all of this, I'm like literally building a relationship with God. My faith is increasing. You know, I'm at a ministry where, you know, they had the fivefold ministry. They operated heavily in the gifts of Spirit, um, operated heavily in, um, prophecy and all that. And so I was exposed to a lot during that season, um, spiritually and naturally. And looking back, I can see how God was training me up to, to serve him in the capacity that I am now today. And so over the years, I've had a variety of jobs My very first job, of course, was at DSS. I used to be a QP working with children in the school system for behavior problems. I used to work in hospice. Oh my gosh, I love hospice. Ah, I used to serve as an usher in church. I used to serve in, you know, the kitchen committee and, you know, feeding the homeless and so many things like that. And then my favorite thing I used to do is I used to be a dance minister. I haven't danced in a few years now because, you know, my ministry has been shifting over the years. And this is why I always say that, you know, you can have so many different passions, but there's no way you can work on all those things at the same time. And so literally looking back, I can see how God was literally allowing me to operate in my passion, but I didn't operate in my passions all at the same time because you will burn yourself out. And so I used to be in the dance ministry for, um, 3 years, and I loved it, okay? I loved it. And I was a dance leader for, um, a few months too at a church in Georgia. And so, you guys, I just love ministry. I just love ministry. I love the word of God. I love, you know, serving God's people, um, through my job and in my personal life. And I'm, I'm just grateful. I'm just so grateful. I can also choreograph. I have helped people before choreograph some of their dances that they would do, you know, in ministry as well. I have a really good eye for that. I have a really good eye for music and words. I had, um, in, in all of that, as far as your spiritual gifts I definitely operate in all the gifts of the Spirit, and I try to operate in all the fruit of the Spirit, which is not the same thing. You definitely need the fruit of the Spirit to be perfected in, in you to truly make an impact in other people's lives. And of course, you know, it's in Galatians chapter 5, verse 22, and it talks about, you know, having, um, joy, having peace, self-control, And I can't think of the other ones right now, please forgive me. But you get what I'm trying to say. And so in a nutshell, I'm passionate about people. And I have clients that I see, you know, in the past and some that I'm seeing now, you know, who have no idea what it is, like what some of their passions are. And your passion and your gift can be different. So let me explain. So let's say I'm passionate about praise and worship, okay? I love worshiping God, I love singing to God, but I'm not gifted in that area, right? I, you know, you might have somebody who is gifted and, you know, sewing and making clothes, but they're not passionate about it, right? And so to me, in order to really be effective and feel like you could really walk in your purpose Um, when boldness and feeling fulfilled, you have to have passion for what you do. What's the point of being, you know, a doctor or a lawyer or whatever it is that, you know, you know, you're trying to be and you're not passionate about it? Like, this is your life. Like, why would you want to be miserable trying to make a certain amount of income? And what if God is not calling you to that, he's calling you to another area? And oftentimes we minimize like the small little thing that God called us to. But the word of God says that if you are faithful, you know, with a little bit, he'll continue to increase you. And I can say that's what God did to me. He gave me a little bit, you know, in the beginning. And over the years, I began to mature as I began to grow in him, grow in my word, grow in my studies as a student, as a social worker, you know, as a therapist, as a business owner. He began to add more. And so please do not look at me wherever you see me on social media, you know, wherever, speaking engagements, whatever. Please do not think that I got here overnight because I didn't. It has taken a lot of years behind the scenes for God to really, um, groom me, equip me, and heal me and prepare me for a time such as this. And so this is why I'm passionate about helping women and men to heal, to discover their passions, and to walk boldly in their purpose, right? And so, um, I'm good at it. I'm good. Every person that God has sent me, it's just like a breath of fresh air for me and for that person. And so I want you to really take out time to really figure out what you're passionate about. And I challenge you to write it down, take it before the Lord, and ask him what it is that he wants you to do with it. Oftentimes God gives us instructions and we do not want to step out in it because of fear. Fear is truly a purpose killer. It will kill your purpose. It will cause you to be stagnant. And one of the things I always say is die empty. I have counseled so many people over the years who were older, and they had so much regret into not walking into their purpose and not taking hold of what it is that God gave to them. Whatever vision it was— it could have been a nonprofit, it could have been a particular ministry, it could have been anything, could even open up a business— whatever it is that God gave to them, they did not walk into it because of fear. And now they are older and they live with so much regret and they feel like they wasted so much time. But I will tell you this though, God can restore you. It is not too late for you to be obedient. It is not too late for you to, you know, um, seek the Lord again and ask him again for strategy. And so, you know, I definitely had to overcome fear, um, in stepping out into everything that I'm doing now. Each level I had to overcome something some type of negative thinking, unhelpful thinking styles for me to walk into what God is asking me to do. Okay, so fear exists in all of us. It's just that we have to do it scared. And whatever we do is scared, I promise you the fear starts to diminish more and more and more and more. I mean, just being obedient to the simple things, you guys. Like, there's so many things that God has told me to do that was so simple. And I kept saying, God, I don't understand why you want me to do this. And he said, just do it. And I told my husband, he said, well, the Lord told me to tell you the reason why he don't give you the full picture all the time is because if he did, you will be afraid and you won't do it. So as simple as one day I was in at church, this was maybe in 2017 when I first opened up my business, and I heard him say, I want you— actually, I feel in my spirit that I should do like a YouTube channel and, um, I kept saying, God, like, why? Where's that feeling coming from? And he said, that's, that's, that's me. That's me putting that, you know, urge on you in your heart and spirit to start a YouTube channel. And I want you to post exactly what I want you to post. I said, oh, okay. And I was nervous, you guys. I was so nervous. And I remember the very first video, a prophetic word I released on the YouTube channel. Man, the views just went crazy. I was like in so much shock, and I was— was I nervous? Yes, I was. And so I posted some videos on YouTube here and there. You can go back and watch them if you want to, um, but it's definitely, um, not a whole bunch of content up there. I've kind of shifted from that, um, over time, and now I'm doing other things. And so, um, maybe in the future I'll go back to that, but as of right now I probably would not post as much. I will also encourage you, if you are aware of your passions, if you are aware of your purpose, please, please invest in it. I am sitting here right now in my bedroom recording this podcast, and I have a library of books, okay, of different books as far as therapy and um, being a social work student. But I also have a lot of books about spirituality, books about how to hear God's voice, good books about prayer, books about intercession, um, books about the making of a prophet, um, books about dreams. And I have so much material that I've studied over the past almost 15 years. And my husband said, if you got one more book— I said, I know, but I want to read it. I feel led to buy this book. So invest, invest into your passions and watch God move in it. So thank you guys so much for watching, and I will record my next episode about purpose, about my purpose, even the more. Talk to you soon. Bye-bye. Thank you so much for being here today. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share with your family and your friends. And please stay tuned for more content. If you would like, also you can download my free ebook at www.shakeetatorres.com and stay in contact with me to learn about new courses, new workshops, and new content that I'll be coming out in the future. Thanks again, talk to you soon.