Leadership

Laura Nichols

Laura was raised in church her whole life. However, abused by her father at an early age, shattered her heart and damaged her emotions. “A little girl does not know how to deal with atrocities brought on by the very man in her life who is supposed to protect her.” Then, at the age of 9 Laura’s father left her mom, three brothers and her for another woman. This set up years of confusion when it came to understanding her “Father” in Heaven.

As a young woman of 18, Laura finally let the reality of her past come to light. She was dating a guy and knew marriage could be in her future, but she had baggage from her past, that she had never told to another soul. Laura wrote her fiancŽ a letter; he was the first person she had ever told. They married a little over a year later, however, the seed of bitterness planted all those years ago, took root firmly in her heart. Laura became angry, withdrawn, bitter, introverted and at times explosive. She was broken, and did not know how to fix it.

Two and a half years ago, she went through her first Healed and Set Free study. The Lord showed her the awful sins of bitterness and anger that had taken root in her heart and how it was defiling the most precious people in her life (Hebrews 12:15). Thankfully, the Lord blessed Laura with a godly, patient, and loving husband. Today, they have three beautiful children, truly a blessing from the Lord!

Now she leads the Wednesday morning Healed and Set Free Bible Study. “I love to watch women as they go through the study. It is amazing to watch the Lord’s work in their lives over those 11 weeks. My husband and I also help with premarital discipleship with the church and have our own ministry to the people of Belarus called Hope for Chernobyl’s Children.”