It can feel risky to be real.

It can feel risky to be real.

Somewhere along the way, many of us learned that being with other believers might cost us.
Maybe you were met with judgment instead of grace.
Maybe your past was weaponized.
Maybe the place that should’ve been safe made you feel like you had to hide to belong.

So we bury things deep.
We pretend we’re fine.
We convince ourselves that silence is safer than honesty.
And in doing so, we sit in the dark, hoping someone will still see us.

We were never meant to walk this journey alone.
Not with masks. Not with fear. Not with shame.

The Body of Christ was designed to be a place of healing, not hiding.
A place where we can say “this is hard” and be met with “I see you” instead of “fix it.”
Where we can trust that God is at work in each other’s mess
and trust Him enough to stay as He does His work.

If your past creeps up or your heart is heavy, I hope you know you don’t have to carry it alone.
There is space for your story.
And there are still people who will sit with you in it,
not rush you through it.

Openness should never equal rejection.
And no one should be left in the dark.