In high school, I struggled with being honest.

People would ask me "How are you?" and I would give the mechanical answer of "I'm good, how are you?" instead of saying, "Honestly, not too good."

I did not keep things from people because I desired to lie.

I honestly did not want them to see the brokenness that I carried and felt. I thought that if I kept things to myself, then I would not be a burden. I thought that if I told my friends about the brokenness, that they would walk away. However, the crazy thing is that we as people are created for community.

We need people in our life to walk with us and lift us up when we cannot lift ourselves up.

One of the things that I learned in my first year at college is that being in community is good. When you are in community, you are no longer walking alone. You now have a whole army of people around you who can lift you up and help you lift your burdens. I know that this is counter cultural for so many of us.

Trust me, I was there.

If I'm being honest, I still find myself there sometimes. It is so hard to show up to your community and it is even harder to be truthful about what is going on in your life. I want you to know how freeing it is when you do begin to let people in to see the brokenness. There are not enough words to describe the peace that comes with letting others help you carry the things that hold you down. Don't hide from the world because you think that you're a burden.

The world needs to see brokenness.

Too often, we are so bombarded with pictures of perfection whether it is on TV or on social media and the realty is that nothing is as perfect as it appears. Let me tell you there is not one person in this world who is not broken in some way, shape, or form. If you don't have a community I would encourage you to find one. Find a safe place where you can truthfully share what is going on in your life.

Be honest with those around you. I promise you will be a better person for it.