This episode is the pep talk every divorced Christian woman didn’t know she needed. I sat down with five divorced Christian women—Diana, Marie, Michele, Grace, and Rochelle—to talk about what it really looks like to take your life back after divorce.
We’re talking loud smoothies, solo vacations, buying swimsuits without crying, and daring to want things. I know. Scandalous.
Key Takeaways:
- Taking up space is sacred. Whether it’s dancing, resting, or saying “no,” your presence matters.
- Your voice is yours. Use it. Even if it shakes. Even if it’s only to ask, “What do I want?”
- There’s power in reclaiming your body. From piercings to pole dancing (yep), nothing’s off-limits when it comes to feeling alive again.
- You are allowed to have fun. Yes, you. Especially you.
Journal Questions:
- When was the last time you did something just for you? What did it feel like, and what would you try next if you truly believed you had nothing to prove?
- How have you been taught—directly or indirectly—to shrink yourself or silence your needs in past relationships or faith communities? What would it look like to take up space instead?
- What brings you genuine joy—no matter how small or “silly” it may seem? How can you invite more of that joy into your daily life?
- Think about a recent moment when you stood up for yourself or set a boundary. How did it feel in your body? What did you learn from that experience?
- How has your relationship with God or your faith changed since your divorce? Where do you feel God meeting you in this new season?
Related Resources:
- Flying Higher (https://joinflyinghigher.com) is my live mentorship program for Christian divorced women who want to work more closely with me and an AMAZING group of women every week. And it won’t cost you your mortgage payment. Just a couple bucks a day.
- Feel like a hot mess after divorce? This 5-Day Workshop will teach you a mind-shift tool to help you learn a powerful way to manage your thoughts and emotions in order to navigate adult decisions with clarity and peace. (It will give you a taste of the classes you’ll get every month in Flying Higher.)
- Listen to Diana’s podcast, the Renew Your Mind Podcast.
- Connect with Marie on her blog, Live Like it Matters, and website, Spiritual Direction with Marie.
- Some recommended books: The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van der Kolk, MD, How to Do the Work by Dr. Nicole LePera, and Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend.
- The app Marie mentioned, meetup.com.
Article: How I Took Back My Body, My Time, and My Voice One Loud Smoothie at a Time
Let’s talk about the real revolution: blending a smoothie at full volume at 6 a.m. and not caring who hears it.
That, my friend, is what reclaiming your life can look like after a soul-sucking marriage and a shame-fueled church experience.
In Episode 7, I sat down with five brave and hilarious women—Marie, Michele, Grace, Rochelle, and Diana—who’ve walked the long road out of toxic theology, controlling relationships, and the never-ending spiritual performance treadmill. We weren’t there to talk about survival. We were there to talk about reclamation.
So what does it look like to take back your body, your time, and your voice? Buckle up, because these women didn’t hold back.
Marie’s Loud Blender and Even Louder Dreams
Marie kicked things off with what might seem like a small thing: making smoothies. Loudly. Without checking to see if anyone was annoyed. She’d always worried about keeping quiet in the kitchen, being considerate, being… invisible.
But now? The blender roars and so does her music. She’s not whispering her way through life anymore.
And then she took it further: she dared to look into a master’s program. Not because anyone told her she should. Not because it would “benefit the family.” But because she wanted to. Just her. That toe-dip into possibility was the start of something big: She eventually earned that degree. But the power wasn’t just in the degree. It was in the audacity to say, “This dream matters because I matter.”
Michele’s 5 A.M. Rebellion
Michele’s act of reclamation happened before dawn. Literally. She started working out three mornings a week with a group of women, a routine her ex didn’t exactly cheer for. But she kept showing up. She kept moving her body in a way that made her feel strong, not small.
She described her post-separation workouts as a lifeline, moments where her body was hers again. No guilt. No explaining. Just movement, strength, and fresh air.
And let’s be honest, working out at 5 a.m. on purpose? That’s a power move.
Grace’s Solo Date and the Magic of Doing Nothing
Grace took herself on a date. She got dressed up, went to a restaurant, and didn’t pretend to scroll on her phone. She just… existed. Took up space. Ate a meal in public without the protection of “I’m waiting for someone.”
And the best part? She didn’t even do anything dramatic. She just stopped apologizing for being a person who enjoys things.
That’s the beauty of reclaiming your time: it doesn’t have to be productive. It can be delightfully useless and totally necessary.
Rochelle’s Holy Nap and Radical Rest
Rochelle? Her reclaiming moment was glorious in its simplicity: she took a nap. A real one. In the middle of the day. With the door closed. And she didn’t feel bad about it.
Sounds small? Not if you’ve spent your life believing that your worth is tied to how much you can do for others.
Rest, for women like us, is rebellion.
Diana’s Dance Party and the Joy of Not Caring
And then there’s Diana. Diana danced. Like, full-on living room dance party by herself, for herself. She wasn’t performing. She wasn’t “burning calories.” She was moving because it felt good.
That’s what healing looks like. It’s not always tear-streaked therapy sessions or breakthroughs in the prayer closet. Sometimes it’s just moving your hips and smiling like a weirdo in your own living room.
This Isn’t Just Recovery. This Is Reclamation.
What all these stories have in common is this: these women stopped asking for permission. They stopped apologizing for their existence. They started tuning into what they wanted, what their bodies needed, what their hearts longed for, what their schedules could hold when no one else was dictating them.
And they didn’t wait until they were “fully healed” to start living again. They just got tired of shrinking.
So What About You?
Are you still whispering when you want to roar? Still checking your joy against someone else’s comfort? Still editing your voice to sound less “emotional” or “too much”?
Maybe it’s time to stop.
Reclaiming your life won’t always look grand. Sometimes it’s as subtle as choosing your own socks or closing the door while you nap. Sometimes it’s letting the blender scream.
Whatever it looks like, let it be yours.
You’re becoming. And you, my friend, are allowed to be loud.
Come join us in Flying Higher and learn how to reclaim your big beautiful life after divorce!
XOXO
Natalie
