Looking through my stack of childhood secrets that Megan and I received during our seminar last week, I’ve come to the conclusion that two secrets were the most popular ones in my stack:

• Stealing gum (for some reason, this was the most common thing stolen. easy access maybe? low risk?)
• Peeking at hidden Christmas presents (I like the one who actually opened them all and re-wrapped them four days before Christmas!)

I think I could honestly say that I did both of those as a kid. In fact, I think I stole more than gum, but I’ll have to think long and hard about that.

The big difference between our silly childhood secrets and the serious stuff we start to hide as we get older is that the deep, dark secrets can really affect every aspect of our lives. I’m sure a lot of us felt guilty for stealing gum or sneaking a peek at presents, but imagine how holding onto a painful secret of abuse or self-injury, or addiction can begin to attack you…emotionally, physically, relationally, and spiritually.

For each of us whose stories were in Secret Survivors, we discovered that when we held on to our secrets, it became like a cancer, eating away at us from the inside. Many of us experienced physical pain, ulcers, weight loss or gain, etc. Most of us pushed people away from us…our friends, family, and even God. All of us experienced emotional breakdowns. We all felt alone. But the power in releasing a secret is that once you do, you’ve found a cure for the cancer. As you begin to work through the pain of your secret with someone you can trust, your body begins to recover, slowly. You long to be connected to other people and to God. You begin to remember who you really are, not who you became as a result of your secret.

I encourage you today, wherever you are, to think about how you can start to let go of your secret. If you’re holding on to it, it really has a hold on you. Break the control your secret has over you, and tell someone about it.

Filed under: Sharing Secrets