"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." - Galatians 6:2
I spoke at my church's women’s retreat last weekend and wanted to end on the call to action for the women present (myself included) to make room for vulnerability. As I looked around the room while I shared my story, I realized how much God has worked this call into our calling.
I’m no stranger to this topic because God’s spent the last year working on my heart to live it out. That time I opened up to my sister about my health problems. The dinner when I told a friend in my community group about how a year’s worth of transition had taken its toll on my marriage. The text I sent to Brittany (our WHC leader) about how I felt completely disqualified for even speaking publicly about faith the day before showing up to the retreat. Without God, these stories would’ve been examples of my brokenness, but with Him, they’re stories about how He can use our openness and vulnerability for a bigger, more beautiful purpose.
Each time we are brave enough to allow people in, we’re trusting God with our testimony and giving Him permission to use our story to showcase His power or move in someone else’s life.
On the contrary, when we pretend like we have it all together or refuse to open up, we’re not only keeping ourselves from knowing the peace that comes from sharing our truth, but we’re depriving God of a chance to use our past, pain, or problems for a greater purpose.
Because you never know how your decision to share could positively impact another. Maybe they share the same burden. Maybe your courage will inspire them to share what’s on their hearts. Regardless, your vulnerability breeds more vulnerability and your transparency can create trust.
We have to choose. We can either have the perception of a perfect life or deep, fulfilling connections. We can’t have both. Allow God to use your story today as a part of His bigger narrative: the story of how we are saved only by Jesus' grace and how His sacrifice makes us worthy of the calling we’ve been given.