Hope Mangiafico (00:01.998)
What if the most important people in your life are the ones who carry you? The friends who believe when you can't, the people who push past obstacles to get you to... Sorry. I tried to keep going and I couldn't. All right. What if the most important people in your life are the ones who carry you? The friends who believe when you can't, the people who push past obstacles to get you to Jesus.
Pulling from the story that is shared across the gospels about a man whose friends dropped him from the roof to be seen by Jesus, we're diving into who are your mat people and why you need them, how to find them, and how to become one.
Nikki Humphrey (00:46.136)
Hi, I'm Nikki.
Hope Mangiafico (00:48.59)
Hi, I'm...
Nikki Humphrey (00:50.262)
I think you're supposed to say hi, Mo.
Hope Mangiafico (00:53.273)
That's okay. I think it will start over. Yay, season two! We're gonna be someone we're ready for.
Nikki Humphrey (01:10.712)
Won't you do it?
Hope Mangiafico (01:12.453)
He will do it. Man. I gotta apologize to Sean that I didn't listen to him when he said to take a hiatus. Okay.
still like, know why sometimes. Okay. What if the most important people in your life are the ones who carry you? The friends who believe when you can't, the people who push past obstacles to get you to Jesus. Pulling from the story that is shared across the gospels about a man whose friends dropped him from the roof to be seen by Jesus, we're diving into who are your mat people and why you need them, how to find them,
and how to become one. Hi, I'm Hope.
Nikki Humphrey (01:55.406)
Hi, I'm Nikki. Welcome to Equip Fellowship, where friends become family through Christ. We're two Jesus-loving friends on a mission to share personal stories, resources, and real talk about our triumphs, breakthroughs, struggles, and setbacks. Why? Because we believe you are called to live victoriously, and we're here to equip you with Holy Spirit-led tools and strengthen your faith, transform your mindset, and walk
boldly into God's promises because here's the truth. You have been given great and precious promises by God. So grab your coffee, lean in and let's grow together. It's time to step into everything God has for you.
Hope Mangiafico (02:44.172)
Today we are defining what are mat people. I love that the father gave Nikki this download and instantly as she spoke it, I was able to kind of get this picture as well. And so today we're diving into this and we are referencing the Bible stories that are in, excuse me, the Bible story that's in Mark 2, 1 through 12, Luke 5, 17 through 26, Matthew 9, 1 through 8. So they're all the same story, all through the gospels, which is great.
and many of us are familiar with the story where there's these four friends that carry this paralyzed man. They're trying to get to Jesus. The house is crowded, overflowing with people, and they are determined best friends of this paralyzed man to see a healing on his behalf. And so they can't break through the crowd. So what do they do? I still can't even wrap my head around this as much as I try to put myself in this story.
They climbed to the roof, busted open and lower their friend to Jesus. And here's the thing that's so amazing about the story. Jesus sees their faith and by their faith tells the man his sins are forgiven. He receives a miracle and this happens. He says his sins are forgiven. I always like to add like.
when we're talking about stories in the Bible, because we know Jesus ruffles feathers, right? So he says the sins are forgiven. And there's some drama with the scribes. They're like, who's this man that can forgive sins? And Jesus addresses them. There's a little heart issue over there. It's not relevant for today, but I like to mention it because Jesus is so cool like that. And after that drama, Jesus tells that man, the paralyzed man, to arise and take up your bed and go to your house. And the man does so.
glorifying the Father and is healed.
Nikki Humphrey (04:47.831)
So good. All right. We got time out right here. Okay. So I thought, okay, so you're doing the intro. My segment one was very much like your intro. So do you just want me to skip it and move to segment two?
Hope Mangiafico (04:48.202)
So yes. Okay.
Hope Mangiafico (05:00.446)
and
Hope Mangiafico (05:07.539)
Well, so that's why I don't like the AI. intro was basically segment one.
Nikki Humphrey (05:14.098)
I did it a different way, but I don't know.
Hope Mangiafico (05:18.121)
So I took what this was and then I broke it down. That's what's been rocking my world a little bit and I'm having trouble with the outlines is because of, because it had like the summary for both. So I just thought the summary was the.
Nikki Humphrey (05:34.957)
when I did the intro, just stopped it after like, today we're talking about mat people and this comes from the most powerful stories in scripture. And then I just named the scripture and then I moved to segment one.
Hope Mangiafico (05:50.128)
Okay, well I can redo it.
Nikki Humphrey (05:52.107)
No, it's fine. I can just move to segment.
to then what is a mat person?
Hope Mangiafico (06:04.894)
Okay, well I can add that transition question, or you can do the transition question as well, or I can do it, where it's just like who are the people that would carry you? Or do we not even include that?
Nikki Humphrey (06:21.485)
So I just defined it like, what is a mat person?
Hope Mangiafico (06:31.685)
Yeah, that's the segment too, right, right. In the intro, the end of the intro outline just had this question for, I guess, the listeners to ponder on and who are the people that would care you, but we don't have to worry about that then.
Nikki Humphrey (06:43.181)
Well, I don't think we need to like say it now because they don't even know like we didn't even lay the foundation for that.
Hope Mangiafico (06:48.103)
Correct. Yeah. Okay, that's fine. So cool. So then I'll end my little story there and then you can go to segment two. That works, right?
Hope Mangiafico (07:08.794)
Okay, I'll add then before we transition.
Hope Mangiafico (07:16.646)
I'll add this little takeaway then and then we'll transition your segment too. Does that sound good?
Okay.
Okay. So what did this?
Hope Mangiafico (07:33.723)
you
Hope Mangiafico (07:41.795)
Holy Spirit come. Okay. So what does this tell us? It tells us that community faith matters. This story also proves the scripture, 1 Peter 4, 8 and Proverbs 10, 12, that love covers a multitude of sins. Miracles happen because of friends' conviction. Gosh, this is awful.
adding S's and changing tenses, I'm just like what the?
Hope Mangiafico (08:16.256)
I'm not even trying that hard, Nikki. That's a like I'm trying not to try. What is happening?
So what does this tell us? It tells us that community faith matters. This story proves the scripture, 1 Peter 4, 8 and Proverbs 10, 12, that love covers a multitude of sins. A miracle happened here because of friends' conviction of the truth that Jesus could do anything, even if they didn't see it yet. This is what a mat person does.
Nikki Humphrey (08:48.405)
right. I love that story so much because I just want to go back for a second. Could you imagine the obstacles that were in the way of the people carrying this guy's mat?
Hope Mangiafico (09:03.187)
No, I literally said I can't picture, I can't even picture the story.
Nikki Humphrey (09:06.977)
Right!
Like they're just fighting to get their friend to the feet of Jesus by any means necessary. And when I was got this download for it, I'm like, what is a mat person? Who are they? Do I even have them in my life right now? And so,
Hope Mangiafico (09:18.135)
Yeah.
Hope Mangiafico (09:36.56)
Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (09:38.945)
That's why we're transitioning to like, what is a mat person? Do I have people in my life that would fight for me to get me to the feet of Jesus?
Hope Mangiafico (09:41.465)
Right.
Nikki Humphrey (09:52.504)
for healing, redemption, just to have a relationship with them. Like, it's astonishing what these poor people did. And so I defined it as a mat person is someone who carries you when you're weak. They believe when you are doubting. They're the ones who push you towards Jesus.
Hope Mangiafico (09:53.112)
Yeah. Yeah.
.
Nikki Humphrey (10:23.457)
They're the ones who refuse to leave you stuck in your current circumstances, way of thinking, lifestyle choices. They're going to go to bat for you. They're going to be there for you. They show up when it's inconvenient, when it's hard on their schedule, when it doesn't quite fit into their lives. They're showing up for you. They help you.
when you feel overwhelmed, like life is too much, like you can't handle one more day, one more minute, one more hour, one more second. They're there, they're showing up. They're pushing you to Jesus. Mat people are not passive. They are active. Just in the story, could you imagine how much effort it would take to carry somebody on a mat?
Hope Mangiafico (11:05.623)
Yeah. Right.
Nikki Humphrey (11:23.253)
a grown man up some rickety ladder, like on an unstable roof in the hot blazing sun.
Like it's an active person in your life. They just don't watch from a distance. They just don't say, hey, let me know if you need anything. They're stepping in before those words can even come out of your mouth.
They text you when it goes quiet. They call you when you pull away from them. They notice when your smile looks forced or you just look like out of character.
They hear the heaviness in your voice. They help carry you through all those things by gently pointing them out and leading you back to the Father. Emotionally, this is the kind of person who sits with you when you're crying, prays for you even when you don't have the words or don't even want to have a relationship with God right now.
Remind you of who you are and who God created you to be. Speaks truth to you when your thinking is off and even when it's hard to speak truth to somebody and stays when it gets messy. Matt people don't disappear when things get hard. They pick up a corner and say, let's go.
Hope Mangiafico (13:05.815)
My little synopsis of what a mat person was when I was sitting with this is like, they're just a safe place. It's that reliability. And that's what I that's what I felt. And like, I love that picking up the corner and saying, let's go, they're trustworthy. You know, that they're going to help carry and so I love that. And I have like a I've mentioned it in
episodes before of like that need for safety as a human and mat people are just that. And that need of safety is also partly why we need mat people. And go ahead.
Nikki Humphrey (13:49.646)
And it's not just that safe space because some people will just sit with me. But I love how a mat person is active in the process.
Hope Mangiafico (13:59.44)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (14:01.921)
And just like you said Hope, because you feel so safe with them, you allow them to push in when you wanna.
Hope Mangiafico (14:08.07)
Right. Well, that's the thing. I I might be getting ahead of myself, but like the active part, I am getting ahead of myself, but like them being active requires us to let them in. And so it's that two-way street, which we'll definitely be talking about later, no doubt. Because if they're active, but you're not receiving, you're in a bit of a pickle.
Nikki Humphrey (14:32.587)
Yes, and we don't know if this paralyzed man even wanted to go to Jesus. He couldn't move.
Hope Mangiafico (14:37.859)
Right, yeah, we know nothing.
Nikki Humphrey (14:41.879)
So maybe his friends just like, he was on the mat and they just started moving him towards Jesus.
Hope Mangiafico (14:46.161)
Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting to think about someone that legitimately is paralyzed.
Hope Mangiafico (14:57.625)
what their limitations are compared to us every day, right? And our abilities to tell someone, thank you.
Nikki Humphrey (15:05.067)
Right. When we're paralyzed emotionally, physically, mentally, that's when we need our mat people to step in.
Hope Mangiafico (15:12.335)
Yeah, it's a great point. Very, very good point. And that said, we need mat people. And even if you're on a mountaintop right now and you're like, dude, I'm strong. I got this. Life is going, going super great. There will be valleys and there will be seasons where your faith is weak. And I feel that, you know, we can't define what a season looks like.
I have found for myself, they can be very short or very long. And I need a mat person during that time where your emotions are overwhelming and that's an ongoing journey for myself. And I tend to be quick to isolate in those times. So I need someone to not let me isolate when my emotions are overwhelming. There'll be seasons where your thinking is off and
There, and I say this for my own journey and conviction where, and Nikki, you could probably agree with this too, or have a story to share where it's like, you are in alignment with Holy Spirit, and then you gain that confidence and then whoop, you're off. And you won't even know it. And that person's gotta tell you to redirect. And well, I know you can attest to it, because we talk about the curlicues, it's that same kind of thing, getting caught up in the curlicues, right?
And there'll be seasons where your hope is fading. You've been believing for something in faith, and then a lot of time has passed. You're wondering if you're even gonna see it come to pass. And it's painful. And a mat person in your life can help. They can't remove the pain, but they can alleviate it a little bit.
And they're also really helpful when you make unhealthy choices. And we're not speaking about nutrition. Sure, that could be part of it. But it's the choices you're making for your entire being, mental, emotional, physical, and of course, spiritual, which often, if we're making spiritually poor choices, it's going to affect all of those areas. So your mat person,
Hope Mangiafico (17:39.105)
just like Nikki said before about who this kind of person is. I mean, they are active and they push you towards our savior and won't let you stay stuck in that wayward thinking, poor choice lifestyle. And in all of that, I mentioned it briefly already, but you need these people when you're in the valley.
because like I shared about my story, it prevents the isolation. They will speak that truth because they know the truth. They're rooted in the truth. They're led by Holy Spirit. And they provide the necessary report, excuse me, they provide the necessary support. Nikki briefly hinted at that as well about how like without you speaking, they know what you need. And there's this beauty in that that you allow them in, like we said, and they can lift you.
because they know what, I don't know why it's just coming to my brain, but like what shifts your DNA almost, like to realign it.
And only they can do that.
and they help regulate you emotionally. And we love identity here. When you're in a valley and you're confused, they remind you who you are in Christ. And they help you get to Jesus when it's noisy and crowded externally, just like in this story that we're talking about, there was a crowd, it was noisy. I can't even imagine how many people and like how this
Hope Mangiafico (19:24.842)
He's paralyzed, man, can't use his body. I'm sure his ears worked. So it's pure chaos. As Nikki said, he's paralyzed, so we don't even know what kind of pushback he was actually able to give, but he could hear it. And then inside, he probably had this internal noise as well. But his friend said, we got you. We're picking up the mat, mute the noise. We got this, they're providing that safety inside. And he knew that he could trust them as they were leading.
him to truth. So when you pause and think about your life, it's really good to reflect and realize that some miracles happen because someone carried you. And when we speak of miracles, they're often instantaneous things. So it can be, I'm gonna use this word and I don't mean it as small, but it can be something as small as a change in mindset. That's a miracle sometimes.
Can I get a name in? Because it is for me.
Nikki Humphrey (20:25.522)
Amen! Amen!
Hope Mangiafico (20:30.338)
or as big as being paralyzed and being able to walk.
but they often happen because someone chose to carry you and you let them.
Nikki Humphrey (20:55.276)
So now we shift our thinking a little bit because how do you find a mat person? What if you're thinking about like, I don't know, I don't have any mat people in my life. Like that's all real good, Nikki and Hope, but I got nobody. I got people stomping on my mat. Just, I feel.
Hope Mangiafico (21:11.816)
.
Nikki Humphrey (21:22.218)
Like I've been abandoned by everybody and now you're telling me to find a mat, people. Are you kidding?
Hope Mangiafico (21:28.946)
Mm-hmm.
Nikki Humphrey (21:31.297)
But it's when we shift our mindset, even that one stinking little percent, and we shift our gaze and we open up our ears and we open up our hearts to the people who are around us or people who we encounter every day. And.
Each of us is different, right? We all say that, we say in the podcast, like we're a study of one. What I'm looking for a mat person might be different than what Hope would look for in a mat person. And I'm gonna read a list in just a moment, just to get the wheels.
turning for everybody. But my biggest recommendation was just sit with God and ask him of the qualities that you're looking for in a mat person. And let the Father reveal that to you and write it down. And way back in the beginning at one of our first podcasts, we talked about like,
It's that cliche saying, but we've talked about it before, like what you focus on you find. But if you have these qualities listed out from God of like, what should my mat people have? And you go out into the world, like I said, and you open everything up, God will put those people in your path. And it will like instantaneously click for you. Like, oh, that's a mat person. Maybe.
Hope Mangiafico (22:48.038)
Right.
Hope Mangiafico (23:04.422)
Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (23:14.188)
I'm gonna start to form a relationship with them. Maybe I'm just saying hi today. Maybe it's gonna be deeper or maybe somebody's already in your circle, but they're not real close to you. Maybe you bring them in a little bit.
But some of the things that I look for from that person is number one, this is gonna be no surprise, another person who loves Jesus, like as much as I do. Like they talk about Jesus. They not only talk about Jesus, but they walk the walk. Like they're not perfect, but they are on a journey with Jesus. And they wanna keep expanding on that.
Hope Mangiafico (23:30.309)
Right. Right.
Nikki Humphrey (24:00.351)
Number two, this person's gonna tell me the truth. Even when it's hard, even when it's uncomfortable, even when I don't wanna hear it, even when I think I'm right and I'm not, they tell it to me like it is. Because a mat person will never say something to you just to make you feel better. Even if in their heart, they know it's not quite true.
Hope Mangiafico (24:20.515)
Yeah. Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (24:30.806)
they're going to tell you that hard truth and give you that loving correction that Hope and I get from God himself a lot of times in life. And another quality is they show consistency. They do what they say. They say what they mean. They walk the walk. They just don't talk the talk. They don't. This phrase has been coming a lot to me lately. It's like,
Hope Mangiafico (24:50.787)
Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (24:59.264)
Don't talk about it, be about it. They don't even have to say what they're doing. Their actions speak for themselves. They are consistent. Not perfect, but they're consistent. And this one goes with telling the truth. They handle hard conversations and they push into them and they don't push back from
Hope Mangiafico (24:59.843)
Yeah. .
Nikki Humphrey (25:26.622)
We all know how awkward it is to have a difficult conversation with somebody without having the other person immediately become defensive. But we also need those people in our lives because if nobody has hard conversations with us, we're never going to get that correction that we need to grow, to change, to increase our relationship with God, with
Hope Mangiafico (25:27.298)
Mm-hmm.
Nikki Humphrey (25:56.587)
Jesus. So as much as we don't like those conversations, they are important for growth.
Hope Mangiafico (25:58.092)
Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (26:04.646)
And lastly, I had, they show up when it matters, when it counts, even if there's physical distance. Like Hope has shown up so much for me over the years and we're not close at all. But she'll call, she'll text, she'll Marco Polo, she will check in. She shows up when it matters. And these are sometimes mat people could be a person that you
haven't connected with in a long time. Do you have you ever got those phone calls or like a text like, I was just praying today and you are on your heart. I just wanted to check in to see if you're okay.
Hope Mangiafico (26:43.081)
Right. That's the Holy Spirit, right? Like we have to leave room for that kind of movement too.
Nikki Humphrey (26:51.232)
Yes, yes. So these people don't have to be in your everyday circle. They can just be, I've received those texts and I've also sent them out to people thinking like, this might be a little weird that this person is getting this. Like I was listening to this song and I thought of you like, hey, how are you doing? But it's important. That's a mat person.
Hope Mangiafico (26:55.232)
Yeah.
Hope Mangiafico (27:05.94)
We are.
Hope Mangiafico (27:09.504)
Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (27:13.248)
And so these people don't have to be the loudest or the closest, but they have to be steady ones, like Hope said, safe ones, the ones who don't shy away. The ones, like you said, Hope, are prompted by the Holy Spirit and they act on it. They're the ones who send you the text or call you up and say, I'm concerned about you. I think you're struggling.
Hope Mangiafico (27:31.53)
Mm hmm.
Nikki Humphrey (27:42.794)
and you don't even realize it, I'm here. I know you're not ready to talk right now, but I want you to know I'm here for when you are.
Can I just come and sit with you? I know you don't wanna talk, but is there one thing you want me to pray about right now?
Nikki Humphrey (28:07.616)
But here's the key. You can't have mat people in your life if you never admit that you need to be on the mat.
If you always say, I'm fine, I'm good, I got it. Like hoping I can handle it. Don't worry, I'm fine. It'll be fine. It's hard, but I can handle it. Like I'm gonna be okay.
Hope Mangiafico (28:20.478)
Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (28:34.54)
You have to let those people in. Because people, we have to allow people to carry us. Because when other people don't allow us to carry them, we know, we feel some way about it. Like, what's going on? Like, why won't they let me help them? That seems so crazy to me. So allow those people to come in.
Hope Mangiafico (28:56.052)
Right.
Nikki Humphrey (29:04.94)
Once you find them, be open, be receptive, and allow God, Holy Spirit, Jesus to work through them.
Hope Mangiafico (29:19.933)
Oh, okay, sorry. You froze and I'm like, oh no, don't know if she's done yet. I don't know, sorry. Yeah, okay, that's great. I was gonna add something to what you shared.
Nikki Humphrey (29:25.248)
I did, I ended it, but hopefully it.
Hope Mangiafico (29:35.516)
Something that was highlighted to me about how to find that people. Well, there's a couple things. One, and well first, I really like, Nikki everything you've shared, well, I absolutely think each person needs to take it to the father and the father give them the qualities for where they are in their lives. Everything you've shared to me is foundational. Like no compromise kind of qualities. And then you build from there.
So I love that you shared those and then the person can build on that for their individual needs for the season that they're in. And something that was highlighted to me is and something I have grown into a time is that a mat person for me cares about my growth and their own. And as the Lord highlighted that to me, the scripture came to mind of because iron sharpens iron.
So I just wanted to highlight that because there are times where, like Nikki said, you get a prompting from Holy Spirit, you reach out to that person, and you're doing your part, you're being a mat person. But for the journey?
The iron sharpens iron is very important. That both desire that growth. And therefore, it's not just one-sided, it's that give and take as well. And that's been something I've been growing into and realizing that sometimes I showed up all the time and it wasn't received and I realized, you know, that was a little distortion. I wasn't actually really being a mat person, you know?
And then the other thing about the iron sharpens iron thing is and what Nikki said about asking for help and admitting that you need you're on the mat you got to admit to that is Accepting that you're always growing. We have to realize that if we are using Jesus as our model We have to be on a mat because we haven't arrived
Hope Mangiafico (31:50.105)
And so we're evolving and growing to be more like our savior and we can't do that alone. And the last thing that the father highlighted to me about that and about this this topic before we move into the next area about how to be a mat person. And so the father said, it's not a matter of who, but when. Trust him. Trust the father to bring these people to you.
You'll know them by their fruit as Nikki just shared today.
It's that simple.
and
Knowing that without being vulnerable and without admitting that you need it as You're a listener to this podcast and you're a follower of Jesus and you love the Lord Know that you cannot do the Father's will without mat people
Hope Mangiafico (32:52.29)
there will be shortcomings in your life, you will not be able to live out in your full purpose, of course your identity, all of these things. And there is that need, which again is scriptural, of needing the whole body of Christ to work together. So just remember that and trust the Lord as you wait for His when of bringing you those people. And of course, that also means
you have a role to play as a mat person as well. Like I said, it's not one-sided. You've got a role to do as well. And I'm constantly growing in this area, as I mentioned before. So a good way to kinda do a self-check, if you will, about how to be a mat person, you can ask yourself a few questions. You can ask yourself, do I notice when someone is struggling? And for me,
When I ask myself this, I also have to be aware of, I reading too much into it? You gotta be spirit-led in that, depending on where you are in your own life. Because I know I have had responses where I tried to take care of everybody. And that's not actually being a mat person either. That's trying to be Jesus. So do you notice when someone is struggling and you feel that pull, that draw, do you listen to that pulling from Holy Spirit?
Do you check in, as Nikki said, giving our relationship as an example, do you check in with somebody or with people, again, as Holy Spirit nudges or just because you love and care for them? Do you speak truth? And not just your truth or their truth, but the truth of Christ to them, to direct them back to the Father every time?
And do you show up when it's inconvenient? And this is inconvenience with your time, inconvenience with your, sometimes like your emotional capacity, mental capacity. You have to press in again to the Lord and his guidance with that. And simple ways to be a mat person after you ask yourself those questions is do you
Hope Mangiafico (35:14.644)
pray for people, and then do follow up. Because my friends, prayer is so powerful. And you don't always have to know the fruit of your prayers, but it's really cool as well to follow up and see what else they need and to see the answers to the prayers. You want some fuel under your behind, that'll do it. Do you sit with pain? You know, do you...
When they're weeping, are you weeping? When they have joy, are you celebrating with them? Do you encourage the healthy choices? Help them regulate their emotions, and that's not you taking it on. You have to use the healthy side of you to bring health out of them too. But it's helping them sort through what they're feeling, not trying to stop it, not trying to heal it, again, not trying to be Jesus.
Do you stay when things are messy? And staying can look like a lot of different things. It's not always talking. It's not always reaching out. In my definition, it would be a safe person knowing that when I get out of that dark pit and they're checking on me, they're still gonna be there. So can you say that you also are that type of person?
And that plays into refusing to abandon people. And that's one that I would also encourage you as a listener to take to the father. Because abandonment isn't always just dropping and leaving and never saying hi again. Sometimes it's when someone is in deep desperation and you were too busy.
which again, we've talked about showing up when it's inconvenient. All of these ways to be a mat person help address those questions that you ask yourself that I shared already. And mainly our listeners are female. So a word for all of us females, because I know that these are areas we all struggle with this list I'm about to give. And I know that because I've heard it said, but just about every female I know.
Hope Mangiafico (37:33.542)
That mat people do not fix, they do not judge, and they do not control. Really important for us to press into that, but instead of fixing, they carry. Instead of judging, they support. And instead of controlling, they guide. And at the end of the day, it boils over to, are you moving with the love of the Father? And the easiest way to do that
is for you to embrace his love for you.
Nikki Humphrey (38:08.896)
love that. And what was highlighted to me the most is what you said at the end, which I feel like I've met a lot of resistance for me being a mat person for somebody else is people are so afraid you're going to judge them when they share what they're going through. And they're feeling that shame first guilt inside that wrestling inside of them. And they
Hope Mangiafico (38:26.575)
Mm.
Hope Mangiafico (38:30.255)
Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (38:36.776)
are feeling exposed and like how you said so beautifully that's why we need to form a relationship with somebody so we feel open but even if you still feel safe with somebody you're still risking that judgment because we're human we're human we're gonna feel some way when somebody tells us something
Hope Mangiafico (38:51.303)
Yeah. Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (39:02.294)
But if we can take that little bit of judgment that comes up and is natural to the Father and help us work through that and have a good response for the person who's sharing, even if we take two quick seconds and be like, Lord, let what comes out of my mouth speak of love and not judgment. Because I know people in my life, even recently, have told me some wild things.
Hope Mangiafico (39:03.919)
Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (39:31.39)
And the first thought is like, almost like judgment, like this is a real Housewives episode, y'all. You know, like that, and I was like, no, this person is coming to me so broken and vulnerable. I need to shut that down right away because that, this is a person's life. This is their story. This is their experience that they are going through and we need to handle that with care.
Hope Mangiafico (39:58.06)
Yeah, absolutely. And by doing that,
You are representing the Father. You are representing our Savior. And that is the most important thing. Real time, Nikki, you're giving this example of that realignment back with the Lord and who you're called to be. And that's that just taking a moment. You can flip it just like that to become a solid, mat person. That's the cool thing. In moments like this where you're getting ready to judge, you can say,
Absolutely not in two seconds. You want to control it. You can say absolutely not. That's the cool thing. So I love that.
Nikki Humphrey (40:43.18)
And then the next part is when you're on the mat and we've said, sometimes you're the carrier and sometimes you're the one being carried. Both of those are healthy and we need to be in both positions in our life. Because if we just allow people to be our carriers and we're not carrying
Anybody else?
That's not what God called us to be. We're called to be the carrier sometimes, and sometimes we're called to be carried.
and we need to allow that to happen, even if it's uncomfortable. One probably feels better for each and every one of us, whereas listening or watching, sometimes you just like to be the one in charge. You're like, I'm going to carry everybody. And Hope and I have tried that in the past, and it doesn't work out very well because we need to be carried and then we're refusing to be carried.
Hope Mangiafico (41:25.707)
you
Nikki Humphrey (41:50.42)
And we have to remember, just like the story, the paralyzed man allowed himself to be cared.
Nikki Humphrey (42:02.174)
no matter what, even if he resisted at first, there was a lot of time, which I have to imagine, because I'm sure the streets were crowded. I'm sure everything was crowded before they picked up the four corners of the mat, walked to the building, went up the steps, put him down, tore a hole in the roof, and allowed himself to be lowered down.
Hope Mangiafico (42:02.667)
Okay. Do.
Nikki Humphrey (42:31.926)
There was a lot of time to be carried. And that's what God wants each of us to do when we are the one being carried, to take that time to be carried. Don't just meet with coffee one time or just have a chat on the phone one time and be like, okay, sometimes that happens because it's just a little mat problem, right? But were those bigger mat problems?
Hope Mangiafico (42:45.806)
You Okay.
Nikki Humphrey (42:59.53)
just like the man in the story. He allowed himself to be seen. He allowed himself to be on the mat. He allowed each person to step up and take a corner. He allowed himself to be lowered. He allowed himself to accept help. And all that led to healing. We can't rush through the process.
And sometimes our mat people, just plant the seed and then we need to go to our Father God and be like, okay, this is what so-and-so told me. What do you say about this? Because sometimes our person will tell us something and we don't even realize it was a problem. We thought everything was hunky dory and someone gives us a loving correction. They're coming up to us in truth and honesty and.
Hope Mangiafico (43:50.036)
Right, totally. .
Nikki Humphrey (43:59.328)
what they're prompting from the Holy Spirit.
Hope Mangiafico (44:04.413)
Yeah.
Nikki Humphrey (44:05.043)
We have to allow ourselves to accept what the person is saying and then bring it to the father. Doesn't mean we have to let it stick all the time because sometimes people can be wrong. But that's when we have to run it through God's filter and what God says about a situation.
Hope Mangiafico (44:28.35)
It makes me think like I know historically what I would do to come on what you're saying is like when you open yourself to receive that you have to embrace like Not letting it embarrass you like there's actually nothing to be embarrassed about when someone highlights something that you weren't even aware about Like it's okay. Say no. you to embarrassment
and that you're not a failure or a flaw. know, Nikki has shared in episodes in the past about like thinking she was just straight up a mistake. Someone giving you this love when they're a mat person is not saying, ding, ding, you are a failure, ding, ding, ding, you are weak, you are a mistake. None of that. And so I just, I felt that very strongly. I'm needing to like,
remind people that all of those things are lies of the enemy and that's gonna try and Okay, that's gonna try and come knocking on the door when you really really Start to open yourself to receive help to let people pick up your four corners You're not Aladdin. You're not on the magic carpet ain't gonna move by itself. You've got to open yourself up and Simultaneously these false beliefs will fall off as well because if you do not
You'll actually grow weaker and weaker and misalign yourself with the identity of Christ. Continue to think you're a mistake and a failure and you will not be able to be fully used with how God intended from the beginning for you. You are here with a great purpose and designed for, and Nikki is talking about this too.
because she's finally embraces in her own journey of there's one thing for her, God designed something just for Nikki. She shared this before. The same is true for all of us. But for you to step into that, you have to let yourself be on the mat and recognize that this is not something that defines you.
Nikki Humphrey (46:34.315)
not. And when you think of it this way, I have this vision download is that when you're on the mat, your mat people are running you to the feet of Jesus, because they know he can restore you, he redeems you, he makes you a new person, he switches your identity, he changes your thinking, he changes your mindset, he heals your body, he makes you 1 % better.
Hope Mangiafico (46:44.334)
Amen.
Hope Mangiafico (46:57.22)
Right. Yes.
Nikki Humphrey (47:03.881)
And like Hope said, there's no shame in that. That's freedom. Your friends want you to experience freedom and they are running you to the feet of Jesus as fast as they can without shame, without condemnation, without judgment. Because we all need that.
Hope Mangiafico (47:17.319)
Okay.
Nikki Humphrey (47:27.497)
And if we don't think we need that, hopefully a mat person comes by and points out what you need.
Hope Mangiafico (47:35.525)
Yeah, no joke. I love that. Perfect little plug. And I think that feeds so well into just a couple of reflecting questions of who are your mat people? Who are you carrying? Who needs you right now?
and probably the biggest question based off what we just said. Do you need to get on the mat and be carried? And if so, it's okay, it's wonderful. So we would encourage you as you sit with those questions and really pause and ponder them. Text somebody if the Holy Spirit highlights someone.
Show up for someone, maybe there's been someone on your heart in general that you know has had a full plate. How can you lessen that load? Pray for someone. I know for me, this is gonna sound very elementary, but you know, I believe in praying for your spouse. Guess what? I don't do it very often. So in the mornings when I sit down to eat, I've been praying for my husband. It seemed like I couldn't find a rhythm that
allowed me to create that space that I think as women it's so important to do for our spouses. And so I finally found how to do that because our spouses need mat people that are outside of us but also we should be one of the corner holders for them too. And then of course let someone help you. Take that to the father. Where do you need help? Truly and
Letting someone help you, I would encourage you as well when you reach out, when you muster up the courage to reach out. Tell them what it is that you need. Be specific. I had just recently gave someone a specific need of mine and it felt so silly.
Hope Mangiafico (49:46.644)
But the father, the Lord highlighted to me that it was a need I had and I needed this specific person to help with it. They wouldn't have known if I did not specify the need. Like Nikki said, a mat person's not someone that's gonna, often, you do not want to rely on someone that's gonna be like, just let me know what you need, let me know if you need anything.
Hope Mangiafico (50:16.32)
That's just up in the air, but you can actually.
Hope Mangiafico (50:24.128)
Format this beautiful mat By going to the father knowing what your needs are and then sending that out to these people Sometimes that could be honestly as I'm thinking about it could be unintentionally a test You have a need You're you're in deep overwhelm. We talked about emotional overwhelm spit it out And see who shows up as the father told me earlier
It's not a matter of who, but when, and you will know them by their fruit.
Hope Mangiafico (50:58.206)
You gotta express yourself and let people in.
Hope Mangiafico (51:06.378)
think that'll do it.
Hope Mangiafico (51:16.32)
Do want me to do the outro?
Nikki Humphrey (51:18.102)
I thought that was part of it.
Hope Mangiafico (51:24.103)
just the links for listening part.
Nikki Humphrey (51:25.917)
Okay, all right, I can do it.
Nikki Humphrey (51:32.094)
Thanks for being here today and listening about being a mat person. No, that's not what I wanted to say. I'm all like. All right, here we go.
If this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend, maybe one of your mat people. And if someone comes to mind while you are listening, don't ignore it. Reach out today. Be the one who carries or let yourself be carried. We'll see you in the overflow.
Hope Mangiafico (51:59.197)
Mm.
