It’s the most loaded question a wife can ask her husband: “How do I look?”
There’s no right answer. If he says, “I love that dress!” she’ll immediately wonder what was wrong with the one she had on before.
If he says, “I’m not a huge fan of that skirt,” she’ll hear, “I’m not a huge fan of you” or “What were you thinking when you bought that?” or “It looks like you swallowed our children!”
I discovered that the tiebreaker in this family stand-off can be a teenage son. He has no dog in the hunt, but if he has an opinion (doubtful), he will definitely say what he really thinks.
Now, I’ll give you a little backstory. I’m Scottish born, so the allure of a bargain runs deep in my DNA. I don’t wait for mere sales. I wait for the “Offer us anything and it’s yours!” markdown. For example, I bought a pair of jeans that had been reduced from $1,000 (unthinkable!) to $54. This was either the bargain of the year or a waste of $54—I couldn’t decide which.
So I waited until Barry and Christian were relaxing in the den before I made my entrance. Barry saw me coming in and said nothing. I cleared my throat. Christian looked up with a look of . . . wonder in his eyes.
“Okay,” I bravely began. “Tell me the truth. What do you think?”
Silence.
“I mean it. Tell me the absolute truth. It won’t hurt my feelings!”
Christian sighed, “The eighties called, Mom. They want their jeans back.”
Okay, so sometimes the truth might hurt a little bit, but when we are talking about our relationship with Christ, the truth He speaks to us about His love for us can mean deep healing.
Remember the story in Mark 5 when the woman who fell at Jesus’ feet didn’t have to tell Him the whole truth about herself? She’d already touched Him and been fully healed. All she had to do at that point was slip away, wait for seven days, and, with an offering, present herself to the priest. Then she would be declared whole and free to rejoin society.
But when Jesus asked a question—“Who touched me?”—she didn’t just slip away. Despite the big, bustling crowd, the busy day, and the fact that many people had touched Him, this woman knew Jesus was talking to her. This was a key moment: would she play it safe or would she choose to be all in? Making her choice, she fell at Jesus’ feet and told Him her story, the truth about her disease, her healing, her faith in His goodness and power.
Have you ever talked to Jesus like that? Have you ever told Him—out loud—your story and held nothing back? When we do so, the response from heaven can change our lives . . . just as Jesus’ kind and loving response to the once-bleeding woman changed hers: “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace” (Mark 5:34).
Facing the truth of our own story might break our heart, but telling it to Jesus could heal it.
Five Minutes in the Word 
The woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at [Jesus’] feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.
Mark 5:33 NIV
LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart.
Psalm 15:1–2 NIV
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
Psalm 51:6 ESV
The LORD is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.
Psalm 145:18
“God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
John 4:24