The Healing Power of Confession

I hate admitting I was wrong.

It irks me. It’s humiliating. Humbling. Makes me feel like I’ve failed, maybe because I have.

I can still remember how I felt as a kid admitting to my dad that I fired an arrow into a basement water pipe (it was a killer shot). And confessing to my then four-year-old daughter that my anger with her misbehavior was really more about a problem I was facing at work (if you want to learn humility, ask forgiveness of a child). And apologizing to my wife recently for being defensive when she asked me about an insensitive text I sent someone (she was right).

That’s why I was so impacted by a recent Instagram post by author Jonathan Merritt about a very brave man who attended a Pride parade in support of the LGBTQIA+ community:

What an incredible gift that man gave to those at the parade. And to himself. And to me. 

Could you use some confession? Have you made a mistake that you haven’t made right? Damaged a relationship that your humility could repair? Breathe deep. Have courage. Make the call. Send the email. Have the hard conversation. If you do, you’ll both find healing relief, and you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.