Confess to one another and pray for each other, that you may be healed.
James 5:16a
Growing up, I was a very emotionally repressed kid. I would never share my feelings, hurts, or struggles with anyone because I was taught that I should never talk about my personal issues with anyone outside of my immediate family. The problem was, I didn’t want to talk about my issues with my parents either. This would cause me to explode in anger every so often, engage in detrimental behavior, or be overwhelmed with anxiety. On the outside, I was a happy, funny, and friendly person, but on the inside, I was in agony. While I’m much better at expressing myself now as an adult, I’m still burdened by anxiety as a result of years of suppressing myself.
Do you have safe people you can confess to? If you’ve made mistakes, been hurt, or struggling with something, whom can you turn to share your burdens? While we can always turn to God in prayer, it’s just as important to have a loving community to unload our baggage; for that is how we can begin to experience healing.
