Emotional Safety Starts with Being Vulnerable

I’ve never read anything more true about mental health. The first step in healing is feeling safe. It seems so simple, but for so many people, safety is not a concept that is very familiar.

So many people feel too afraid to let down their guard and be open and real. Too many people feel like their sins are too great, their darkness too overwhelming. They are afraid to drop the masks they wear for fear that others will see the demons within.

If you are one of these people, you are not alone. We all have demons. We are all tempted. We have all failed, we have all done things or experienced things that make us feel dirty and less than.

Being a “safe place” for people, ANY person, is a direct calling from God to me. It’s not easy for me, because I prefer to stay home, to help in private, to have quiet, private conversations within my own comfort zone. But breaking outside of our comfort zones is where all the magic begins to happen.

For 5 years now, I have been getting down in the ashes with others. I am not perfect at it. Sometimes, I would rather wallow in my own troubles than worry about someone else’s, but God has shown me how being there in the valley with others is just as much about my growth as it is their’s. I don’t have to have all the right words or do all the right things. I just curl up beside the hurting and God does the rest. Because of Him, lives (including my own) are changing for the better.

I pray that I can continue to develop this gift and be what God intends for me to be. I pray I continue to see it as a blessing, and through my vulnerability and pain, through my own healing, others can see Jesus. The whole purpose of loving and caring for others is to show people who God really is and what He can do. By being vulnerable, showing our pain, sharing our hurt, and loving others we grow, we build a tribe, and one by one we change the world.

So I challenge you to live in the moment, love yourself, and show how strong you are through your vulnerability. It’s the most amazingly, courageous thing a human can do.