Have you ever been scared to tell a friend something because you were unsure of how they would react? I remember jet skiing at a lake with my friend Amber once, and in the middle of the lake the jet ski ran out of gas. Not knowing what else to do we starting swimming the jet ski to shore (good thing we had life jackets!). During this time I mustered up the bravery to share with her something that I was terrified to tell others. It was something that I had struggled with a long time but was worried how people would see me. Her reaction couldn’t have been more perfect, still loving me despite my imperfections.
Hiding the ugly doesn’t make you more beautiful
As I said above one of the reasons that I did not want to share what I was struggling with was because I was scared of how others would see me. This moment really taught me the beauty of sharing our struggles and brokenness with each other. Friends are there to share life with, and sometimes life is ugly, and when I shared, not only was I free from fear, but I gained someone who wholeheartedly accepted me and someone who would be praying for me. It is a beautiful thing when someone accepts you; the good, the bad, and the ugly and then also encourages you to grow into something beautiful.
Speaking of friends… Do you consider yourself to be a friend of God? Yeah, you probably didn’t expect me to go there… but seriously, have you ever considered yourself a friend of God? That He can extend His hand of friendship to those He calls children? Truthfully, this wasn’t something that I really thought about until a couple weeks ago, and I could talk about a lot of different aspects of friendship, but I want to focus on overcoming our fears of sharing our struggles, because just like I had my fear of sharing my struggles with my friend, it is just as easy to have the same fear about being open, honest, and broken before God.
Are you brave enough to be broken?
A few years ago, I accidentally dropped my phone in a porto-pottie (I wish I was kidding). I called the person who was in charge of the account to let them know what happened and their response was “how could you be so stupid?” Not the reaction you want to hear, and this accident wasn’t even that bad! Being honest, sharing struggles, admitting brokenness can be scary, and if you are like me, you have had your fair share of others reacting badly to your honesty. This is one reason why I try to be wise with who I share the deep struggles with, because I want the receiver to be careful with my heart.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
1 peter 5:6-7
Last year, at the retreat there was a time when we were supposed to pray over each of the women in our small group. I remember really not wanting anyone to pray for me. I would have done anything to get out of it, and I did. But after the session was over I sought out my friend Amber to again share things with. I shared fears that I had held on to for years, fears that I did not even know were there until they were coming out of my mouth. Later that night, I went to her room that she shared with a few other friends of mine and they prayed over me. As the weekend concluded the next day, I was more honest before God than I ever had been, and let Him into the depths of my heart that I didn’t know were there, and in response He replaced my fears with His peace. He replaced my insecurities with His perfect assurance. He replaced my brokenness with His confidence, my weakness with His strength.
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 55:22
Where in your life do you need to be brave enough to be broken? Where do you need to open your heart before God and share with Him the depth of your heart, even the unconscious fears that are hiding? There may be something small that has been lingering, or maybe something big that has really been weighing you down. Whatever is on your heart right now, bring it to Him. Be open, be honest and if you are unsure where to begin, start with this prayer below… you can verbalize it, write it down if that is more comfortable for you, but let your words flow out of the depth of your heart. Be brave enough to be broken.
God, there are some things that I am scared to share with you, with anyone. But I know you are the best friend to be honest with, so here is my honesty, my struggles, my brokenness…
