“Your story does not end where the pain began. Your identity is not determined by who showed up or who didn’t. Your identity is determined by the God who has been present in every chapter.”
—Kishea Boyd
There are moments when the people meant to guide us fall short, and the questions about identity grow louder. The search for where we belong does not disappear with age or faith. It simply waits for truth to meet us where we are.
In this episode, Keisha shares the story of discovering her biological father as a teenager and realizing that human answers were never meant to carry the full weight of identity. That journey led to a deeper dependence on God and shaped the work she now carries for women seeking healing, alignment, and spiritual clarity.
Press play for a grounded, faith-centered conversation that reminds us where identity is truly formed and why no story is finished yet.
In this episode:
- Discovering identity beyond father wounds
- God’s presence in identity discovery
- Redemption and healing through Jesus
- The vision behind The Locate Journey for women
- Spiritual alignment, accountability, and sisterhood
- Stepping out of hiding and embracing purpose
Episode Highlights:
01:15 Speaking to the Woman Who Is Tired but Still Trying
04:55 My Identity Shift Began at 14
08:40 Your Pain Is Not the End of Your Story
12:39 Introducing the Locate Journey
17:10 Your Yes Will Shift Generations
21:00 Breaking Fear, Shame & Delay
26:20 Nothing About Your Story Is Wasted
Resources:
- Coaching Service: https://www.shapedonpurpose.com/services
Quotes:
02:32 “You were made for the more.” —Kishea Boyd
03:25 “You were never meant to settle, and you were never meant to do life alone.” —Kishea Boyd
07:08 “Sometimes the people we expect the most from are the very ones who are unable to carry it, not because they don’t care, not because they don’t love us, but because they simply don’t have the tools.” —Kishea Boyd
08:02 “Your story does not end where the pain began. Your identity is not determined by who showed up or who didn’t. Your identity is determined by the God who has been present in every chapter.” —Kishea Boyd
08:51 “Your story is not finished— not as long as you’re still breathing. The Father who sees you is also the Father who writes the ending.” —Kishea Boyd
15:04 “When you rise, you don’t rise alone. Your children rise, your marriage rises, your purpose rises, your voice rises, your strength rises, your clarity rises.” —Kishea Boyd
14:43 “If God is nudging you, don’t wait. If you wait, life will distract you. Fear will talk you out of it.” —Kishea Boyd
Kishea Boyd is a woman whose journey began not with triumph, but with a search—for identity, purpose, and the heart of God in every season. After serving over 20 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, where she honed resilience and leadership, she found her true strength not in uniform, but in faith. Rededicating her life to Christ in 1999 marked a turning point, leading her into ministry, mentorship, and a deeper understanding of who she was called to be. Through the joys of family life with her husband, Quinton, and their son, Kameron, and through the challenges that shaped her, Kishea has learned that God’s love never lets go. Today, she lives to help others rediscover identity, healing, and purpose through Him.
Transcipt:
Hey, sis, I see you. The strong one, the faithful one. The woman who keeps showing up for everyone else while quietly wondering if anyone still sees her. You can breathe now. You’re safe here.
I’m Kishea Boyd, The Identity Midwife. This podcast was created to help you rediscover who you are right in the middle of real life. Here, we talk about faith, healing, identity, and the gentle work of becoming. You don’t have to fix a thing, just lean in. You’ve been located.
Kishea Boyd: Hello, and welcome back to The Identity Midwife Podcast. This is your host, Kishea Boyd. And today, we’re going to jump right into Episode 8. Come sit with me for a moment. Yeah, just like that. Take a breath. Let your shoulders fall, because I just want to talk to you, not the crowd, not the room, not the thousands scrolling. Just you. And as I’ve stated before, the women that I’m talking to, I like to name them Crystal, or either Joy. Right now, today I’m going to talk to Crystal. Now if your name happens to be Crystal, then girl, this is definitely for you. But even if it’s not, it’s something in you that’s already leaning forward, heart beating a little different, then you’re the one I’m talking to.
So listen, before we go any further, I want you to hear me clearly. I see you not the version of you that you show everybody else. Not that I’m good, I’m fine, I’m a strong version. I’m talking about you, the woman who’s tired, the woman who’s trying, the woman who’s been carrying a quiet ache. The woman who keeps saying, Lord, there has to be more than this. Sis, there is. But more importantly, you were made for the more.
Now, lean in, because I want you to picture something. Imagine you and I are sitting at a kitchen table, no cameras, no lights, no pressure, just two women, two daughters talking honestly for the first time in a long time. And I look you in your eyes and say, daughter, you have been circling this mountain long enough, do you feel that little shake in your spirit that tug right under your ribs? Yeah, that’s the Holy Spirit tapping you, saying she’s talking to you because God sent me here in this moment to remind you of something you may have forgotten. You were never meant to live small, you were never meant to hide. You were never meant to settle, and you were never meant to do life alone.
Sis, I need you to hear me with your Spirit. Heaven has been watching you. Heaven has been waiting for you. Heaven has been calling your name. But before we talk about where you’re going, I need to gently talk about where you’ve been, because you didn’t just end up here by accident. Every chapter of your story, every detour, every heartbreak, every silent season, every night you cried and didn’t tell anybody, God saw it. You didn’t think anyone noticed, but he did. And right now, he is calling you forth. But before we answer that call, I want to take you back with me to a moment in my own life, because I need you to understand something about who you’re talking to, not coach Kishea, not the identity midwife, just Keisha. A girl who once believed she wasn’t enough, a girl who also thought her story disqualified her, a girl who didn’t know she was seen either. This is where our journey starts.
Okay, now that you’re a little settled, I want to take you somewhere with me. Not to entertain you, not to get sympathy, but because I need you to see how God weaves identity through moments that don’t make sense at first. I was about 14 when my whole world shifted. I remember my mama calling me into the room one day, and she had that look on her face. The one where you know something heavy is coming, but you don’t know what it is yet. She sat me down, paused, and then she said the words that cracked my world open. She said, baby, hey, what is not your father? And says, let me tell you, it felt like the floor moved. Not because I had a bad childhood, not because I was mistreated. But because suddenly, everything in me that ever felt different, everything that I couldn’t put my finger on finally had a name.
I had spent 14 years imagining life one way. And with one sentence, the storyline flipped. A year later, at 15, I met the man who was my biological father. And listen, in my heart, I had built up like a movie. I had it all built out. I just knew he was coming to rescue me. I knew this was going to be the moment everything made sense. I thought he would see me and instantly know me, claim me, cover me, validate me. I thought meeting him was going to fill every empty place. But sis, real life is not like a movie, and people can only give what they have. He gave what he could, but he did not have the capacity to give what I thought I needed. Now, I want to honor him, because he’s still alive, and because he did the best he knew how. But I need you to hear this with your spirit. Sometimes, the people we expect the most from are the very ones who are unable to carry it. Not because they don’t care, not because they don’t love us, but because they simply don’t have the tools.
And sis, that realization shifted something to me. It was the beginning of an identity revelation, not because he showed up as a father, but because God did see at the time I didn’t realize. But even in the parts that disappointed me, God was writing a bigger story, a story where he would father me, where he would teach me who I was, where he would show me how to walk, how to love, how to forgive, how to rise. It was through that ache that I learned something that I need you to hear today, your story does not end where the pain began. Your identity is not determined by who showed up or who didn’t. Your identity is determined by the God who has been present in every chapter and says, when I look back now, I see the whole thing through heaven’s lens. What felt like a plot twist was actually a setup for a greater revelation. Just like in a good movie, you don’t understand the scenes as they’re happening. But when you get to the end, you’re like, oh, that’s why that happened. I get it. That was me, and that might be you right now.
You’re standing in the middle of a chapter that doesn’t make sense yet. But since I promise you, your story is not finished, not as long as you’re still breathing. The Father who sees you is also the father who writes the ending. And daughter, we end with Jesus. No matter how your story started, no matter what twist showed up along the way, no matter who failed you, no matter what you didn’t get, your ending is redemption. Your ending is identity. Your ending is glory, and that’s why I need you to stay with me, because what I’m about to say next is going to shift something in you.
***If your heart’s been heavy, if you’ve been searching for clarity or peace, I invite you to pause. Encounter Coaching is a one on one space where you can lay it all before Jesus and let him speak. Every encounter is different, but the outcome is always the same. Freedom, healing, and truth. Take the time. Give yourself this moment with the Father. The link is in the show notes.
All right, sis, now that you walked with me through that part of my story, I want to talk to you about yours, because I can feel it. You’re standing at a crossroad. You can sense that there is more that God is tugging on your spirit, that he’s been whispering to you in the quiet places, but fear has been whispering too. And if you’re anything like me, you started so many things, new ideas, new dreams, new attempts. And then somewhere along the way, you stopped. Not because you’re lazy, not because you’re unmotivated. But because deep down, you are afraid this would be just another thing you didn’t finish. It says, hear my heart. This time is different. Those other things, they were ideas, wishes, possibilities. But this tug you feel right now, this is an assignment. And when God assigns something, you don’t just rest until you obey. Or you don’t get rest until you obey.
Now, I need to shift into something holy. Because what I’m about to share with you, it’s not marketing, it’s not strategy, it’s not hype. It is a call. Listen to me carefully. The Locate Journey is not a program. It is not content. It is not to sign up and get information. Sis, it is a sacred journey, a set apart space where women come to lay down false identities, pick up truth, hear God clearly, heal deeply, and rise boldly. And I need you to understand this with maturity. I am not called everybody. Not every woman is meant to walk with me. Not every personality fits this space. Not every heart is ready for the level of honesty, reflection, healing and spiritual alignment that this journey requires. That is why this first cohort is not for 50 women, not for 25 women, not even for 15. It is for 12. 12 daughters, 12 different stories, 12 different voices, 12 destinies, 12 assignments, 12 reasons.
Heaven keeps waking me up at 3:00 o’clock in the morning. 12 women whose lives will ripple into generations. And sis, if you are feeling a weight in your chest right now, if your eyes are warming up, if you feel like I’ve been watching you through a window and reading your mail, it’s because you might be one of the 12. But I want you to hear this clearly. I hear your way into this circle. You cannot force your way in. You cannot join just because you want the transformation. This is a cold circle, a discerned circle. Just like a midwife, I could sense immediately when a woman is meant to be in this room and when she is not. And I say that with love, because this journey requires safety, it requires honesty, it requires spiritual sensitivity, it requires alignment. And the women God is gathering need to be able to walk together without fear, without comparison, without drama, without pretending. This will be a room of truth, a room of healing, of revelation, of identity, a room where heaven speaks and women listen. Every woman will have a butterfly buddy, and that’s just someone to walk alongside her, pray with her, process with her, and stand with her, so you will have accountability. You won’t be doing this alone as she steps into the daughter she was always meant to be.
And I need you to hear me, if you are one of the 12, your obedience to say yes is going to break something open for the women coming behind you. Your yes won’t just change your life. It will shift your lineage. It will shift the atmosphere of your home. It will shift how you show up in the world. It will shift the way heaven uses you. Because when you rise, you don’t rise alone. Your children rise, your marriage rises, your purpose rises, your voice rises, your strength rises, your clarity rises. And sis, if you are hearing all of this and feeling torn like, is this really for me? You’ll know your spirit will confirm it, not your fear, not your insecurity, not your excuses, your spirit.
Here’s what I want you to do. Not out of emotion, not out of pressure, but out of obedience. Reach out, send the message, DM me, email me. Say, Kishea, look, I think I’m one of the 12. And even if you get on the call and we discern this isn’t your realm, this isn’t your time, this isn’t your season, you will still not walk alone. I will pray with you. I will cover you. I will believe with you, and I will walk with you until your season comes. But if this is your realm, if heaven is stirring your name right now? Then, sis, don’t wait. Your mountain has held you long enough.
Sis, before we close, I want you to stay right here with me. Don’t move, don’t rush. Don’t let your mind scatter, because this moment right here, this is holy ground, you walk with me through my story, you felt the tug of your own, you’ve heard heaven whispering, you’ve sensed that pull in your spirit. Now it’s time. I want you to do something. Put your hand right there on your chest, feel your heartbeat. That’s purpose, that’s calling, that’s destiny, that’s the breath of God inside you saying, daughter, rise now. Close your eyes. Let me speak to your Spirit.
Father, in the name of Jesus, the name above every name, the name that makes demons tremble. The name that heals, restores, delivers. The name that calls daughters out of caves, I lift up your daughter right now. Lord, you see her. You know her. You formed her. You called her by name. You have marked her. And even when she thought she was invisible, heaven never lost sight of her. So right now, in the authority given to me by Jesus Christ, I call her forth. Daughter, come out of hiding, come out of fear, come out of delay, come out of confusion, out of shame, come out of the fog, come out of the lie that you are not enough, the lie that is not your time, the lie that is not your season. I break every whisper that told you you were too late, too quiet, too inconsistent, too uncertain, too broken, too busy. The devil is a liar. You are who God says you are, and he is calling you into the light.
Daughter, step forward. I call you out of your nest, out of your comfort zone, out of the sidelines. I call you out of your prayer closet and into your assignment. I call you out of your comfort. I call you into clarity, into confidence, into obedience. Rise, because heaven has a need for you. Lord, I pray you shake her spirit awake. Let every dead place come alive. Let every dormant gift Ignite, let every cloud or confusion break, let every heavy weight lift. Now in Jesus name, I speak peace to her mind, courage to her heart, strength to her bones, fire to her purpose. And father, I declare that she will not end this year the way she started it. She will not walk in circles, she will not shrink back, she will not silence her own voice. She will not apologize for her anointing. Daughter, I decree over you, you will hear God clearly. You will walk with conviction. You will rise in identity. You will move with boldness. You will finish what God told you to start. You will step into the destiny that has been waiting on your yes.
And now you, you young woman, to the one who feels that tug, that burning in her chest, that trembling in her belly, to the one who knows this word is hers, daughter, you have been located. Your mountain has held you long enough, your fears have stalled you long enough, your doubts have lied to you long enough, the kingdom is waiting on your obedience. There are other people assigned attached to your obedience, and they will not get their breakthrough until you get yours. So Father, seal this word, seal this moment, seal her calling, mark her spirit, wake her up in the midnight hour, confirm it through your word, whisper it through your spirit, and let her know without question that she is one of the daughters you are calling forth. Lord, gather your 12 hands, pick them, reveal them, and let no counterfeit voice distract them. Daughter, I bless you, I cover you, I call you forth, and I declare over your life that you will rise. You will obey. You will walk on purpose. You will finish strong. You will not miss your moment, in the mighty name of Jesus, amen.
Now, sis, before you click away, come back for just one more moment. Let me talk to your heart. Now, I know that not every woman listening has my story. Maybe you didn’t walk through father wounds. Maybe you had an amazing father who loved you. Well, maybe he’s gone now and you cherish those memories. Maybe you don’t relate to the ache I felt. But hear me, this isn’t about having my story. It’s about hearing God in your story no matter where you come from, no matter what shaped you, no matter what you lost, no matter what you gained, your identity still comes from the same source, the father who created you. So if anything in this episode tugged at you, if something stirred, if you felt seen, if your spirit whispered, this might be for me. Then, sis, don’t ignore that you’ve been located. And if you want to talk, if you want support, if you want to share your story, I would love to hear it.
This is not a podcast where you sit and listen in silence. This is a journey, a space, a community, and I want to walk with you. If you want to be interviewed on the show, if you want to share a moment that shaped you, if you want to tell the world how God located you. Reach out to me. My email is theidentitymidwife@gmail.com. You can also find me at theidentitymidwife.com. All of that is in the show notes for you, so you don’t have to remember anything. Just go, click it.
And sis, listen, if something in you is rising, if you feel that internal, this might be my time. If you’re wondering whether you are one of the 12, please don’t sit on that. Don’t overthink it. Don’t talk yourself out of obedience. Just reach out. Just say, you know what? Kishea, I think it might be me. It might be me, I’m quite sure that it’s me, and we will discern it together. No pressure, no push, just truth, timing and the Holy Spirit. I cannot wait to hear from you. I cannot wait to walk with you. I cannot wait to see what God is about to do in your life. Sis, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for listening to my story. Thank you for sitting with me. Thank you for allowing me into your story for a few minutes. And remember you have been located. I’ll see you in the next episode.
Before you go, take one more breath. The same God who shaped you still sees you. Every scar, every tear, every wind, nothing about your story is wasted. Today, speak to your heart, share with another woman who needs a reminder that she’s not alone. And when you’re ready to go deeper, everything you need is waiting for you in the show notes. Until next time. I’m Kishea Boyd, The Identity Midwife. And daughter, you’ve been located.