Secrets

Paul Tornier writes, "Nothing makes us so lonely as our secrets."

I nearly had an epiphany when I read that. All my talk of luggage and yellow suitcases and truth simply comes down to one thing: secrets. I know there are supposedly good secrets and bad secrets, but the truth of the matter is that a secret must be kept just that...secret. You can't share it with just anyone, and often times you can't share it with anyone. And then there are those secrets we choose to keep; perhaps for good reason, but the more the secret becomes secret, the more lonely we become. And thus, the luggage begins to collect.

I opened my suitcase of secrets this week. It was HARD. I almost slammed it shut multiple times, but I felt God telling me it was time. I took a baby step of faith and opened it up just for a peek... Then another baby step, and I showed someone else a peek at what's inside... You know what? They didn't laugh or gasp or tell me to put it away... They told me I was taking a huge leap of faith and that God would bless me for it. Today someone asked me if they could see, and I showed him a peek at my suitcase of secrets. You know what? He didn't laugh or gasp either. He encouraged me even more.

The enemy has kept many of us bound by our fears and our secrets. He wants us to be lonely and afraid. He lies by telling us that other people won't understand or will laugh or won't accept you because of your secrets. He lies again and again until we start to believe him and begin packing our own baggage that we carry wherever we go. I'm done with trying to lose my luggage and pretending it's not mine. I'm done carrying it around and having to pay for it every time I go somewhere... I'm taking baby steps and unpacking things that should have been put away a long time ago. You know what? I don't feel so lonely anymore... What about you?