What is the most common answer to the question, “How are you today?” It is the superficial, “Fine.”

This drives a lot of people crazy. I am one of them. Why? Because it feeds a culture of denial. Every time I respond with that answer untruthfully, I am putting a little band-aid on my heart in an attempt to hide. The problem is hiding from others leads to hiding from myself and God too. I start to believe that things are “Fine” even when they are truly rotten.

My people are broken – shattered! -
and they put on Band-Aids,
Saying, ‘It’s not so bad. You’ll be just fine.’
But things are not ‘just fine’!
- Jeremiah 6:14 (The Message)

Obviously I am not going to spill my guts to everyone I talk to. But, I need to be spilling my guts somewhere! My freedom and the health of my relationships, with Jesus and others, depends on it.

I don’t want to live my life floating in a boat on a river called DENIAL.