Some lessons come softly, others split you open first.
In this porch talk, Jennifer shares how trauma can turn self-sufficiency into armor—and what happens when grace finally breaks through it.
She begins with the biblical story of the donkey that spoke the truth, reminding us that God will use any voice to reach us, even when we resist. From there, she unpacks the myth of independence, the vacuum that forms when we stop letting anyone care for us, and the moment she sat on the floor of her therapist’s office realizing she hadn’t received in years.
This one is tender, raw, and necessary—a quiet invitation to let love show up without a bill attached.
In this episode:
• The myth of self-sufficiency and the armor it creates
• When help feels dangerous: trauma’s cost-calculation
• Provision vs. intimacy—how grace meets us face-to-face
• The reckoning: “I haven’t received in so long”
• Learning to trust help without debt or shame
• Why love and grace were never meant to be transactions
• How receiving reshapes the way we give
Psalms of a Daughter is now available on Amazon.
patreon.com/jennifershatzer
Learn more: JenniferShatzer.com
Instagram: @thejennifershatzer
Facebook: facebook.com/thejennifershatzer
If you’re struggling or in crisis, in the U.S. call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
As always, with space and a little salty grace…
Until the next time the porch lights blink.
