Becoming Who We Always Were

A Return to Our Original, God-Given Self

Nicholas Branch childlike joy

There is a version of us that existed before fear, before pain, before trauma, before the world taught us to shrink. For me, that version lived in a little boy around age 2 or 3—wide-eyed, curious, bold, and completely unafraid of life.

I recently revisited that memory while looking at an old picture of myself (the one above). In it, I look fearless. Joyful. Free.

And I remembered an experience from about 2-3 years old:

At that age, I unbuckled myself from the back seat, climbed into the front, and tried to drive the car.

Not once—twice .I had watched my parents handle the parking brake, the steering wheel, all the motions of driving… and in my innocence, I thought:

“Of course I can do that too.”

No fear. No hesitation. No voice telling me it was impossible.

Just pure belief.

A faded, symbolic image of water signifying a drowning to come

When Life Starts Covering Us

But life has a way of covering that fearless child.

For me, what followed were experiences that tried to smother that original design—my parents’ separation, questions about worth, the traumatic drowning that shaped so much of my early story, and eventually a long season of performing for acceptance.

Awards, achievements, accomplishments—they all became armor .Not to celebrate myself, but to prove I had value.

Somewhere between childhood innocence and adult responsibility, that bold little boy got buried under everything I thought I had to be.

A garden growing—symbolic of original design.

Healing Isn’t Becoming — It’s Remembering

For a long time, I thought healing meant becoming a better version of myself.

But what I’ve learned—through God’s love, through The River, through the miraculous encounters that rewrote my life—is this:

Healing is remembering who you already are. Who you’ve always been. Who God has always seen.

Not a project. Not a performance. Not something to earn.

A beloved child of infinite Love.

And when I look at that photo of myself at 2–3 years old, I can finally see it:

The boy who believed he could drive a car isn’t gone. He’s uncovered.

What If Your Original Self Is Still Right Here?

That fearless, imaginative, joyful child inside you isn’t lost. They’re waiting. Not to be created, but to be remembered.

God doesn’t see the layers life added. He sees the masterpiece underneath.

A Path Back to Your Original Design

That’s the heart behind Our Bodies as the Garden of Eden—a return to the truth that our bodies, our identities, our essence were always meant to reflect the Garden… the place where God and humanity lived together in love, connection, and wholeness.

If you feel something stirring as you read this—a nudge, a memory, a longing—that’s your original self calling.

And the Father is always ready to meet you there.

👉 Explore more in Our Bodies as the Garden of Eden

👉 Or read my deeper story in The River

Infinite love and blessings,

Nicholas