Meet: Chanel Chase!

What inspired the Pain Process Purpose book? My life was in shambles, and the crazy thing is that no one around me knew. Five years ago, I didn’t even know myself, and the person that people were getting to know wasn’t really me. I had worn the mask of conforming to the perception of what people thought about me instead of being who God really called me to be. I experienced a lot of pain in my past relationship, and I allowed that situation to define me. I lost a lot of friends. I went through a lot of hard situations and I got to a place in my life where I had to truly ask God for help. But before I knew I needed God’s help, I went through that stage of anger with God. 

I blamed Him for my circumstances and situations, but He took me through a process of teaching me my role in some of things I went through and I had to learn how to take responsibility for my part. I didn’t even know that this book would be a book per say. I honestly was creating a journal to God. I thought about everything that He had brought me out of and I was still standing. The whole year leading up to my dad’s death, I experienced so much pain, but when I lost my father October 7, 2016. I experienced the worst pain I had ever faced in my life.
 
God really took me through some tough times, but He showed me that He would never leave me. This book was formulated because I saw my pain first hand, and I lived through the process and now, I’m seeing the purpose God created for me. God placed this book in my heart and the key to it was transparency. I wanted to let people see the real me and understand that life will take you through situations, but God will never leave you. I wanted to encourage people that are in the pain stages or the process stages that God still has a purpose for them, and that we do not have to let our past situations or circumstances define who We are because God has a plan for us regardless.

How do you define 'spiritual identity' exactly? Spiritual Identity is a definition of “Who You are in God”. It’s our identity being found in Christ. I believe in my life, the reason I allowed myself to be treated less than I was valued. I didn’t quite realize Who I was in God. It wasn’t until I went through my journey that I learned t the value God had given me. I learned that He literally handcrafted me to be bold, confident, beautiful, strong and so much more. I had to identify with Christ to align my thinking with the way He crafted me to be. I had to find who I was in HIM.
 
What are some of the challenges that prevent women from uncovering it? Wow! There are so many, but one of the main ones I would say is masking who we are. We live in a huge world of social media and many other influencers that can affect the invisible line of competition we create in our minds. So, we look great on the outside, but we never allow God to heal and grow the inside.

I know I continued to do things that made people think that I was okay. In my alone time, on the inside I was going through more than I could handle, and my pride (or mask) wouldn’t let me ask God for help. Our masks prevent us from digging deeper, and it keeps us hidden behind false interpretations of the people we want to be versus the people we are. The problem with that is that God has a plan for us, and sometimes we can deter that plan. We are afraid of becoming who God wants us to be based upon all the interpretations of who we feel we have to be like.
 
Another reason, I would say is control. We want to control our lives and in controlling our lives, we make decisions based upon what we want versus what God wants. That’s how we can end up dating the wrong person, hanging around the wrong crowd or being in the wrong situations and going through pain that we don’t necessarily have to go through. We decide to control our lives without consulting God.
 
What words of advice would you share with women who are currently in a stormy season? PRAY PRAY PRAY AND ASK GOD FOR FRIENDS THAT PRAY! Beyond that, I would say to be honest with yourself about how you feel, and be honest with God. Everyone goes through stormy seasons, but there’s always a blessing on the other side. I know one of the suggestions I made in my book is to have a “Thank You Journal” with God. Even when it seems like you are having a bad day and it doesn’t seem to be getting brighter, stay focused on God and find little things to write down and be thankful for.
 
When you go back and look over it, your stormy season most likely had rays of sunshine in it that they probably over looked because they were so focused on the bigger problems. That method helped me realize that God was still with me in the midst of the storm, and it taught me how to spend more time with God.
 
Find quiet time with God, read, listen, and pray. I also created affirmations that I forced myself to speak over my life regardless of what it looks like. I’d suggest every person do that as well because Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Eventually God will reveal what the purpose of that stormy season was, but until He does, I’d say stay focused on going through the process WITH God versus without Him.
 
How can readers connect with you online and through social media? People can follow me on facebook “Chanel Chase”, on Instagram @chanelchase and specifically for updates on the book @pain2purposebook on IG. My website is www.chanelchase.com as well and my book website is www.pain2purposebook.com/