Some years ago, I made a phone call that changed the course of my life. At the time I was battling depression and the tormenting flashbacks of my past. In that dark season, the still small voice of the Holy Spirit gently urged me to confess to my parents what was happening in life and what was keeping me bound so I could experience freedom, but I remained trapped by guilt and my misguided condemning thoughts. 

I was weighed down by the fear of being exposed, of being rejected, of experiencing shame. I worried about being perceived as weak or as a victim. What would happen to my reputation? How would I preserve that facade of being strong? 

To be exposed meant that parts of myself that I had kept hidden “for my own preservation” would be revealed to someone else. 

I feared the shame that might follow, convincing myself that I would be blamed for what had happened to me. 

The fear of rejection kept lingering as I contemplated the possibility of my family or friends distancing themselves once they discovered the secrets of my past. 

I thought “Surely, they will no longer look up to me as a strong woman. They’ll finally see that I am actually weak—that I am a victim, and far from an overcomer.”

All of this culminated in a fear of a damaged reputation—that my openness could undermine how people would perceive me. 

What happened next, however, surprised me. When I took a step of faith and shared with my parents and later on with my close bible study group, my vulnerability drew in people with a spirit of compassion and prayer. My willingness to open up and share freed them to do the same. My story actually inspired them, one by one, to also share their own similar experiences—and it liberated me from the fears that had been paralyzing me. What once felt like negative risks turned out to be a time of openness, liberation and healing. 

Freedom, restoration, and healing are on the other side of your vulnerability—not just for you, but for others as well. Are you willing to be vulnerable today?