Living Free

About Living Free

About Living Free

Living Free is a place for truth, encouragement, and support. Through my work in the mental health field for over 20 years, I have witnessed people in some of their greatest struggles. Those struggles look different for different people and have varied impacts in their individual lives. Nonetheless, at their core what is needed is the same – HOPE. This world offers a lot of things (good or bad, positive or negative, healthy or unhealthy) where we deceivingly believe we have found hope. However, the path to finding hope, true hope that never fades or changes, starts by finding our identity in who we are in Jesus Christ.

God’s word states in John 8:32, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Once we know the truth, in God’s love, He provides a plan of redemption through His Son, Jesus Christ. This plan is open to all as a free gift upon accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. That redemption plan gives us the forgiveness of sins, the help of the Holy Spirit, a new identity, and the promise of eternal life. We can then begin the journey of living freely.

This journey of living free is not a one-time achievement or goal reached. 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 states:

“But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

Living free is a daily choice of living out our identity in Jesus Christ. That is not going to be easy, but if taken step by step, choice by choice it will be worth it. Living Free hopes to be a support in that journey.

About Melissa Caldwell, LCSW

I am a lover of Jesus, people, and sports. For the first 15 years of my life, I grew up in Queens, NY, where I acquired my city-girl toughness. It’s also where I first fell in love with sports, thanks to the New York Mets. Looking for a calmer life, my mom moved us to beautiful Virginia Beach, Virginia, which became home. New York and Virginia hold a special place in my heart as my New York roots never left, but in Virginia, I became a new creation in Jesus.

My professional background began when I graduated from Old Dominion University with a Bachelor of Science, Double Majoring in Psychology and Human Services Counseling in 1998. As I began working in the counseling field, I continued my education at the graduate level and obtained a Master’s in Social Work from Norfolk State University in 2004. I have over 20 years of experience working in the human services, social work, and mental health fields which include the following areas – victims of domestic violence, batterer’s intervention, substance abuse, child protective services, families in crisis, at-risk youth, co-parenting, private practice and Christian counseling. My work experience has been a medley of full and part-time work as I balanced my roles as a full-time wife and homeschooling mother.

My personal story is a beautiful one all due to the redeeming grace of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. After many years of living oblivious and contrary to a resurrected life in Jesus, I was drawn to Him as I started attending church for the sake of my family. Although the initiative was to teach them values, I began to see the overpowering message that I needed Jesus in my life. I eventually accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior and was born again through baptism in 2005. I have been on a transforming journey ever since.

I am a passionate person (some may say competitive 😊) and love the opportunity to either play, coach, or watch sports. I love the life lessons, thrill, and excitement that can come from the sports arena. My love for Jesus and connection to the sports world is what led to the addition of Playing Free.

The process of sanctification is lifelong so I’m walking this daily choice of living free too. There are days it goes really well, and then some days I look like a “kite in a hailstorm” (My favorite line in Away in a Mango kids Christmas play). However, no matter which way it is looking, I can hold on tight that God is never changing, and He will not give up on me.