Episode 25. Elizabeth Petters – From ‘anxiously existing’ to ‘lovingly living’

I am so excited for y’all to meet my new friend, Elizabeth Petters! She hails from Pennsylvania and is now a Mama of two! She is the daughter of Biblical scholar, Pete Enns, and has followed in his footsteps with a ‘deconstruction of faith’ journey. Her main mission is to bring mental health awareness to churches.

Elizabeth sits down with me to share her story of generational trauma involving anxiety and depression. I SO appreciate her vulnerability in sharing something so personal and meaningful to her, and how it led to her clarity with a purpose and vision on who exactly God’s created her to be. Elizabeth tells her story of navigating through healing while having hope – still to this day.

Now as a parent, Elizabeth reflects back on the challenges her parents must have faced in her childhood years as she dealt with anxiety, and the difficult relationship she and her dad shared. She explains that she knew God was good and she always had hope, but looking back at those days, she’s amazed she is still alive. She says that looking back at her eight-year-old self, she does so with love and a newfound respect despite the trauma she went through. 

She shares the story of being taken away to a wilderness camp, how impactful it was in her recovery, and how it’s the thing that just may have saved her life. She was stripped of everything, yet somehow became stronger because of it. Right after wilderness camp, she was sent to an all-girls boarding school. Looking back on it all, she can see how God perfectly orchestrated the timing for her ultimate healing.

I am so honored Elizabeth chose to talk about the hard stuff with me today. I love hearing how she’s learned to balance the tension of it all as she is now striving to parent with a new perspective.