She is a Church member whom I have known for 12 full years. The other day, she finally let the walls come down and told the truth about her feelings. It was this incredibly liberating moment as she let her true emotions come out in her words, not caring what I might say or do.

People are naturally inclined to hide their true thoughts so as not to offend anyone, especially those they do not know well. We create a façade so that others do not see the ugliness behind our eyes. There are walls we keep up, and we rarely let them come down for fear of judgment.

Whenever you get close enough to someone that they finally let their walls down, it is a breakthrough moment in a relationship. We can stop pretending to be something we are not and let our true selves out into the world.

What is interesting is that, for the first time in 12 years, it felt like we were having a real conversation. It was not an exchange of curated niceness meant to keep me happy. But sadly, it took that long for this person to trust me enough to let their guard down.

As Christians, one temptation is to keep up the walls and never let anyone in. Real relationships are born when we let them down and let others in to truly know us and our feelings.

Sure, it is risky, and you could get hurt. But it is better than living in a bunker built by our own fear.