“How’s your day going?” “Fine.” “How are you doing?” “Good.”
Superficial conversations like this clutter and fill our lives daily. It is rare to find people who will admit the truth and not sugar-coat reality. Whether someone had a terrible day, an unbearable week, a grueling month or year, rarely will anyone admit the need for help and confess their personal trials and struggles. Now I understand the importance of not openly relinquishing information that may be used against you; and I acknowledge the wisdom that not everyone needs to know. But I am suggesting that when an individual struggles with issue “X”—whatever the issue is—and fails to confess his/her secrets, then he/she is only further isolating and hurting himself/herself. We are not alone in our struggles.
I commend Andre Agassi for writing his memoir “Open,” and admitting to his personal struggles and addictions. Although I may question his motives for revealing his shortcomings, I can appreciate his willingness to be honest and candid.
Proverbs 27:17 tells us that, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” And in the book of Romans we are urged to “rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn.” No man or woman is an island. We all truly need each other. You never know what your neighbor has gone through, or what life circumstances the guy at the gym has had to endure, or the challenges the girl at school faces every day. By ignoring reality, far too often we isolate ourselves from the very people that could be of assistance.
So the next time someone asks you, “How was your day?”—do something different and tell the truth!