Tell The Truth

Tell the Truth

Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.

A dear friend of mine was going through a really difficult time. Her family was being pulled apart at the seams, and she was looking for a way out. Although I completely understood where she was coming from, and my heart ached for her, I knew her emotions were guiding her actions. Before responding to her texts, I quickly said a prayer and called my mom.

My mother is a woman of faith who prays hard and keeps confidences. She is quick to offer compassion and slow to judge others and their actions. She knows all too well her own human frailties and often speaks of God’s mercy toward her own propensity to error.

I briefly explained what was going on and then asked, “Mom, can you pray?”

“Of course,” she responded, “but honey, you have got to tell her the truth.”

I nodded through tears as my mom prayed for my dear friend and her situation, as well as for wisdom for me to speak truth wrapped completely in love. I felt peace as I hung up and called my friend.

Our conversation was honest but laced with grace and the shared understanding that no matter what, I loved my friend and her family dearly and only wanted the best for them.

We all walk through challenging situations sometimes, and we need those who love us to remind us of what is true, even when we ourselves don’t feel it or see it. Proverbs tells us to keep loyalty and kindness close, allowing them to guide us in all we do. In friendship, this allows us to have honest and hard conversations with those we love, out of that place of true affection. We all need friends who will lovingly speak truth to us at times, and when we’ve built a foundation on kindness, we’re able to navigate even the most difficult of conversations.

— Kendra

— Today’s Act of Friendship —

If there’s a difficult or challenging conversation you have been putting off, pray for that friend and then lovingly approach them with the truth.