Have you ever woken up one day and realized that panic mode and pure exhaustion have become your default settings? If you’ve ever Googled, “How to protect your energy” and “Tired of being tired” and “How to set boundaries” … then you are not alone.
I’ve been there, so I understand how hard it can be to feel hopeful. The good news is, you don’t have to stay in that drained, depleted place.
Friends, this is the approximate text of a talk I gave at Living Spirit Church on Sunday, July 31, 2016, Your Truth Will Set You Free.
Photo Credit: geralt, Pixabay
You’ve heard the platitudes …
Honesty is the best policy.
Tell the truth and shame the devil.
An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.
They make it sound simple, don’t they? As if telling the truth was so straightforward. But for those of us who are accustomed to covering up, getting real is … complicated.
When you start speaking up after years of silence, you’ll discover the land mines in your psyche. You probably won’t even know they’re there until you step on one.
The anger and sadness that you stuffed down years ago will rise to the surface … and you will be tempted to turn away.
Dear friend,
You never know when truth is going to find you. Truth sets you free, and that’s the best news there is. But you need to do your part; you must open your eyes. You need to look around your small cell and see Truth next to you, ever patient, holding the keys.
Truth is not outside; it’s there in the cell with you, close as your own heart. The Eagles had it right: So oftentimes it happens / that we live our lives in chains / And we never even know we have the keys.
Sweetheart, I just want to give you a heads up. Someday soon, you will find yourself writing an essay in which you describe your childhood church, The Worldwide Church of God.
You’ll want to link to a basic description of the organization, so you’ll do some research. By this time, you’ve Googled the church before, but words like “cult” and “abusive” made you look away.
