The no-matter-what friendship we have in our Freedom Ascent group has given me the space and opportunity to face and confess things I had never shared with anyone else—things that had kept me hiding in shame. Our leader really listened to me, without approving what I was doing wrong of course, but rather allowing the Holy Spirit to confront me through the Bible passage and to lead me to be able to honestly say, ‘Here I am,’ knowing that God will lovingly receive me. That has been so freeing. Up until then, guilt was eating me alive. Now I can go to Him freely, not with an excuse to sin, but drawing close to Him, rather than looking for love in other places.