Where is there a safe place?

As I sit here unable to breath through my nose with a randomly swollen right eye that won't fully open I'm thinking deep. Deep and a little fuzzy from a Nyquil hangover.

I just read this post over at my very very favorite blog; Flower Patch Farmgirl. It's an old post but I just stumbled upon it today and it made me think of some recent conversations. One with a friend and one with a sister.

Where is the place you feel comfortable sharing your struggles and asking for prayers and good thoughts? The place you know you can do that without judgement or fear of gossip? Is it a church? A small group? Your family?

I think I am more honest than most about struggles I've had or that Drew and I have had but even I find myself not blogging about things that we have faced and God brought us through for fear that it will spark some sort of discussion among people about our wrongdoings. I fear that rather than celebrating with us and being thankful, judgement will be passed and inevitably our faith/marriage/sanity questioned.

I worry that certain addictions/struggles/issues are often kept under wraps in the church for fear of judgement. I understand there is a fine line between asking for prayers and airing dirty laundry but there should be a place, a people or at the very least a person to go to with heavy hearts.

Where that person/people will talk to God about it rather than others. Our biggest misconception as Christians, in my opinion, is that we must struggle alone. Especially about certain hang-ups. I think most of us agree we're willing to ask for prayers for medical issues or for searching for a job.

But what about the Christian struggling with an eating disorder? Alcoholism? Depression? How do we, as Christians view those particular struggles? Am I the kind of person someone would feel comfortable asking to pray for them or support them or would they fear I would use such information to gossip or simply use it to feel a bit better about myself because I don't struggle with that particular issue?

This post is for me probably more than anyone. But I want to be that person and I'm trying to be. It takes a lot of re-working of my brain. I loved what flower patch farmgirl said about 'when the dirt flies in the middle, people get uncomfortable. no one knows how to deal.'

Sometimes dirt flies in the middle of our Christian walk. We aren't always the result of some great conversion story, never to be tempted again. Dirt flies forever. As long as we are on this earth.

But, I vow to try and be a safe place.