…I’d like someone to tell me the truth.

“It’s probably not going to be better tomorrow.”

“This is gonna hurt for a long time.”

“This may be exactly where God wants you to be.”

That’s why I really like my counselor. He’s a truth-teller. He doesn’t mince words or sugarcoat. He shoots straight. He says things like, “Have you thought that maybe God wants you to be single?” Or the one that really sticks with me, “You have to be able to throw dirt on the grave of those expectations before the pain starts to heal.”

I’ve realized that many times I do people a disservice when I put a candy shell around their difficult circumstances. Now, I realize that I also have to be willing to walk the hard road with people. I can’t just be a truth-teller and drop a bomb on someone and then walk away. I can’t speak truth just for shock or to get a reaction. My heart has to be right. The recipient has to be ready to hear it and often it’s the truth-teller that needs to be the one that discerns that. You have to be there, walking with them in the middle of the crap to know if you can or should be a straight shooter in that moment. That’s not a license to lie…ever. It becomes about being able to discern the readiness of the person hearing the truth.