The truth.
Some people pay me for it and some people get it for free.
For better or worse, it’s my superpower.
But it hasn’t always been this way.
I remember a time when people in my life thought I was controlling.
They watched the way I tried to get my husband to eat healthier, the way I tried to get my toddler to look and behave a certain way, and they saw all the rigid rules I had for myself and the people around me.
Something deep inside me knew they were right, but I wasn’t ready to see it.
It was an ugly part of me that was better kept in the shadows, in the corner, under the rug.
Sixteen years ago I made a conscious decision to start telling the truth about myself.
I decided to get really brave and ask people who love me where I was lacking.
I started surrounded myself with wise people.
I paid professionals to show me my blind spots.
I started having real conversations with God.
This was not a fun or easy time in my life. It was messy and uncomfortable, and down right ugly.
It kinda felt like the worst flu. The one where I threw up 27 times in one night.
The reality is that truth might make you miserable before it sets you free.
Last night I went on a bike ride with my husband and I asked him a question.
“If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about me, what would it be?”
It took him about point five seconds to answer.
“Sometimes you get really mad really easily.”
In the past, I might have been defensive.
I might have taken it personally.
But I didn’t. I didn’t even want to.
I just paused and thought about what he said.
For the rest of the night I thought about how it must feel to be him when I get mad.
I thought about times in the past when this has been true.
I thought about how I could try to do things different in the future.
That night while I was talking to Jesus, I asked him for some extra help.
Because I need it.
After I said my prayers, my husband and I had a really honest, vulnerable conversation.
The kind that leads to real connection.
It felt so good. So free.
Do you have at least one person in your life who loves you and is willing to tell you the truth?
What if you asked someone to tell you the truth today?
What if you decided that you are brave enough to hear it?
What if this simple asking could change your life?
