Recently, I had the honor of hearing a current student confidently address a room full of board members and supporters of Compass Rose Academy. While she shared, she expressed something so beautiful and reflective of the healing and growth that she has experienced at CRA. She said, “I think Compass Rose has not made me a new person, it has unlocked the potential inside of me to be the person that I am today.”

This statement hit me because it so deeply resonates with our mission here at Compass Rose Academy. My former pastor, Alex Falder, used to speak of this as “unleashing our fullest redemptive potential.” We at CRA exist to facilitate experiences for our clients that heal and grow them and their families at their core. 

This is what’s foreshadowed in Isaiah 61, a prophesy of what Christ would come to do: “bind up the brokenhearted… proclaim freedom to the captives,” (61:1) “comfort all who are filled with sorrow” (61:2), “give them beauty instead of ashes… joy instead of sorrow” (61:3). It goes on to say “they will build the cities again that were destroyed long ago” (61:4) and “instead of your shame you will have a share that is twice as much… instead of being without honor, they will sing for joy over all you receive” (61:7). 

This student has experienced release from bondage. For her, the bondage came in the form of limiting beliefs and core emotional learnings about herself that kept her stuck: “I have to be perfect to be worthy of love.” In experiencing that she is loved, both with her good and bad parts, she is freed to live out of that place. No longer does she need to restrict food or “be perfect.” Instead, she can simply be. She is loved, and no longer defined by her good or bad parts. As a result, “cities” are rebuilt that were “destroyed long ago” in terms of relationships with her family and peers. Shame no longer grips her, and instead she experiences honor and embraces her inherent worthiness.

For this student, her journey isn’t over. She will continue to grow in her ability to attach and get her needs met in healthy relationships (bonding). She will continue to grow in defining herself and her “boundaries.” She will continue to grieve losses, and hold the good and bad in herself and others while striving toward the ideal (reality). And she will continue to develop her skills and passion, while learning to submit healthily to authority (competence). And all of this work will be possible because she’s no longer working to constantly be “enough.” This piece has changed everything: her potential has been unlocked as she’s freed from the chains that once bonded her as she now knows she’s neither good nor bad, but loved. Herself, unlocked.

 

By Madeline Spring, Director of Admissions, MA, LMHC