Nanci

by

Some stories begin with a quiet ache. Mine began with a slam, the sound of dishes, doors, and dignity hitting hard surfaces.

For most of my life, anger was the air I breathed. A turbulent relationship with my mother and severe childhood trauma hardened into an identity: I was the angry daughter. I cussed like a sailor, hated people, and carried bitterness like armor. Anger felt normal because I grew up surrounded by it.

But God was already plotting my rescue.

Through the faithful prayers of a Godly husband, a small group that believed God still heals, and a mentor named Lucy, I would encounter Jesus in a way that changed everything, first on the inside, then everywhere else.

The Mother Wound

Before 2016, I’d never heard of inner healing. I probably would’ve rolled my eyes and called it “woo-woo.” But when you’ve run out of ways to fix yourself, you get open to things you once dismissed.

I met Lucy at church. She prayed with people in her home, which sounded strange to me, but I was desperate. During our first session, she asked me to forgive my mom. I balked. My mother had known about the abuse I suffered as a little girl at the hands of male relatives, and she didn’t protect me. When I finally told her what was happening, she said, “Tell him to stop. You make it stop.”

A wall went up that day, and many false beliefs took root.

Still, Lucy led me gently through prayer:

“Mom, I forgive you for not protecting me and for blaming me. I forgive you for the damage that it did to my life.”

Then Lucy said, “Ask Jesus how He sees your mom.”

In prayer, I saw something I’d never seen before: a fifteen-year-old girl, crushed by grief after her father’s death, frozen at that age emotionally for the rest of her life. It didn’t excuse what she’d done. But it explained it. And suddenly, compassion cracked open the cement around my heart.

Days later, I walked into Mom’s house and, for the first time in my life, felt no irritation, no rage. Just peace.

Forgiveness didn’t erase the past; it changed me.

From Anger to Awakening

Healing wasn’t instant or easy. Before meeting Lucy I had a hard time controlling my temper. I threw dishes and screamed in rage. Three days after my husband and I were married, he walked in on me yelling at my teenage daughter. Without shaming me, he quietly said, “That’s not how this house is going to go.” He dropped to his knees in the hallway and said, “We’re going to invite the Holy Spirit into this home.”

Peace flooded our house, and it’s never left.

We became active in church, serving and raising teens. Eventually, we joined a congregation with a prayer room. At first, I thought those people were weird, too spiritual, too free. But something in me longed for the freedom they carried.

My husband began praying, “Lord, show Nanci her destiny.” And that’s when Lucy’s mentorship deepened.

During another prayer time, I had a vision. Jesus was sitting beside me on a picnic table, wiping dirt from my face. In that vision, I looked like the little girl from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the one I’d always thought was so beautiful. I felt clean, loved, and seen. Then Jesus held up a book, the book I would one day write.

At the time, I was thriving in corporate HR, climbing the ladder, perfectly content. Writing a book? Leaving my job? Unthinkable. But something inside me was shifting.

When the Student Becomes the Healer

Lucy invited me to a three-day conference led by Monty Bromiley, founder of Beth Shalom Ministries. Monty spoke of people being healed, deaf ears opening, skin conditions clearing instantly as their hearts were set free. My jaw dropped. Scripture came alive like never before.

That’s when God whispered, “You could do this too.”

I laughed. “That’s for special people, Lord, not me.”

But a few days later, while driving through the North Georgia mountains, the Lord peeled back the curtain of heaven. I saw people in their homes on their knees, crying, God, send someone to help me get free.

I was undone. I sobbed until I could hardly breathe. In that moment, I was baptized in what John Ramirez calls holy anguish. God gave me His heart for the broken.

Not long after, while visiting Florida, I walked into a church service for the homeless, people I’d once judged harshly. The moment I stepped out of the car, the Lord whispered, “This is My church, and this is beautiful.”

He pointed out a young woman in Christmas pajama pants and told me to pray for her. As I did, He began revealing details about her life, things I couldn’t have known. She wept, repented, and encountered freedom.

I knew then: This is what I was born to do.

When God Said “Go”

Then came the harder part, obedience.

God told me to quit my job. I argued. We were a two-income family with college tuition and bills. “You’ll have to tell my husband,” I said. And He did. God gave my husband confirming dreams without me saying a word.

On January 1, 2017, I walked into my office and resigned. My company not only blessed me, but they also gave me seed money to start my ministry.

By April, I was ordained under Beth Shalom and had my first four clients, all from one conversation in a church parking lot. I haven’t advertised since. There’s been a waitlist ever since, and more than 2,000 people have sat on the couch in my prayer room to meet Jesus in their own stories.

That same year, everything in our house broke: the porch, the roof, the cabinets. Then, in September, the company I’d left was sold to a very large global financial firm, and all my stock options paid out. God provided exactly what we needed.

A Sunset and a Different Ending

In 2021, my mother’s health declined rapidly. After two falls in eight hours at a nursing facility, I literally wheeled her out the back door and brought her home. I became her caregiver, not resentfully, but lovingly.

When she passed, the Lord whispered, “This is a beautiful sunset”.

He was right. Not because the past disappeared, but because bitterness did. I had honored my mother, cared for her, and released her in peace. That moment birthed my book, Angry Daughter: A Journey from Hatred to Love.

Living Free

Today I walk people through biblically grounded inner-healing prayer, inviting Jesus into the places where pain began. What I once called “woo-woo” has become the most sacred part of my life. I’ve seen marriages restored, shame broken, clinical infertility reversed, and people discover their true identity in Christ.

I’m passionate about helping others trade lies for truth and bondage for freedom. If forgiveness feels impossible, I often invite people to pray:

“Jesus, You are the Forgiver. Through You, I choose to forgive __ .”

Forgiveness doesn’t erase what happened. It hands it to the only One strong enough to carry it.

When I think back to the woman I used to be, the angry daughter who hated people and loved control, I hardly recognize her. Now, when I see someone struggling, my first thought is compassion. That’s not personality polish. That’s evidence of healing.

If This Is Your Story Too

Friend, what matters to you matters to God. Your pain matters to Him. He’s not waiting for you to clean up before coming close. He’s waiting to step into your picture and heal what’s been missing.

Start small. Tell Him the truth. Ask, Jesus, how do You see me here? Then listen.

If He can turn an angry daughter into a compassionate healer, He can do the same for you.

Don’t miss Nanci on Living the Reclaimed Life Podcast, she has two powerful episodes with us!

Angry Daughter: From Hatred to Love ~ Nanci Lamborn Ep.153

Inner Healing: Inviting Jesus Into Your Story ~ Nanci Lamborn Ep.154

Nanci’s ministry now includes several powerful resources:

All are available on Amazon, Audible, and through her website at www.lambornauthor.Ink.
You can also connect with her on Instagram and Facebook at @lambornauthor.

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