James 5:16
Often times, because I am very open and honest about the things that I’ve dealt with I end up with a lot of criticism. While I recognize that it’s usually from Gen Xers and there is a cultural difference between them and Millennials, there’s also the reality that God is the one who told me to go into the world and share my story. Recently, at church the Pastor referenced James 5:16 and it was such a game changer for me. It reminded me that not only am I doing what God told me to do directly, but God told all of us to do so and that our healing is connected to it. He made a point to mention that the healing promised in James 5:16 doesn’t require you to confess to God, but to one another.
I’ll start by addressing the criticism and why I’ve chosen to continue regardless. For every person I’ve had tell me to “stop telling all of my business”, there have been 3 people who reach out to say thank you for sharing your story because it helped them feel less alone in their struggles. When I have speaking engagements, it never fails the number of people who come up to me afterwards to share similar stories to mine, and if I’m honest that’s my favorite part. I first realized the healing power of transparency after I lost my twins and began sharing with people in my everyday life.
When I finally had the courage to share that I had miscarried twins, I was surprised by the number of people who’d shared similar challenges. Not only did it make me feel less alone in my pain, not only did it help me find community, but it also gave them the freedom to be honest about their experiences. There were people who had other children they spoke of regularly or people I’d known for years, but I had no clue they’d experienced a miscarriage…until I started to share about mine. It was healing for both of us and it unlocked a powerful reality in me, especially as I walked into my purpose as a motivational speaker.
I write this to say, sometimes we hold things in when maybe that’s the exact opposite of what God wants us to do. Just maybe He wants us to be honest about our experiences so that true healing can occur, for both you and the person who needs to hear your story. True healing requires transparency because God cannot heal what you pretend doesn’t exist.