Day Sixty-Four

INVITE SOMEONE INTO YOUR PAIN

You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it; you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.

—PROVERBS 28:13 MSG

I remember being in eighth grade and getting a phone call from my friend Brittany. “Annie,” she said, “I think I’ve figured out a way for us to lose weight before the dance in May.” I was all ears. “We’ll just take these pills that make you have diarrhea.” And so for about a week, I did. Let me tell you, there is no more horrible experience. Did I lose weight? Barely. I felt horrible, my hair lost its shine, and my stomach was upset the entire time.

I have known so many people who have struggled with eating disorders. It is such a painful cycle. And it feels like such a shameful thing that the person struggling with it becomes secretive. And the one suffering hides his or her pain.

Also, people caught up in any sort of secret sin get defensive, elusive, and sad. It is just like with a sore or injury—if you hide it, it festers (ew). If you show a doctor, you will be on the road to recovery.

Don’t keep secrets.

Tell somebody you trust. Please. The darkness can’t hang around when it’s exposed in the light.

You may need a counselor or a pastor, or you can invite friends in, but it needs to be someone with more authority in your life than just a friend.

Proverbs 28:13 is the real deal. It’s God’s Word. Sin and pain thrive in the darkness. They love a good secret. And, friend, I know it—you’ve got to be brave to tell that shameful thing to those people you want to like you.

Darkness can’t hang around when it’s exposed in the light.

But just try it, and you’ll be surprised. You’ll be surprised how often people give grace. You’ll be surprised at how quickly the light eliminates the darkness, and despite what your mind tells you, you will feel braver once it’s out in the open.

BE BRAVE: Friend, tell someone you trust what pain you are experiencing. Don’t keep secrets anymore.