Gentle Honesty

I struggle with gentle honesty.  Gracious candor is a weakness for me, and one that I'm trying to overcome with every interaction.  I don't shy away from confrontation, or telling people what I perceive to be the truth.  However, my approach could use some serious work.

Sometimes in my quest to unload what I feel, I forget that the harshness and insensitivity of my words can really hurt the other person.  The worst part of all is that I have the best intentions, but my impact is not what I was hoping to achieve.  I don't want to be perceived as bossy, judgmental or critical.  But most of all, I don't want to hurt the people that I love.

I recently hurt someone that I love very much with my harsh words. I commented on something that was none of my business, and I was so busy getting it off my chest that I wasn't considerate of the other person's feelings.  I apologized right away, but realized that this is an ugly theme in my life that I need to change.  I have a lot of growing to do, and I'm grateful for every new day, because with each new day comes a chance to do better than the day before.

I'm hopeful that we all keep in mind daily that we're not even close to being perfect.  We all have opportunities for growth and maturity.  This is one of mine.  For those of you I've hurt with my words, and you know who you are, I'm truly sorry from the bottom of my heart.  Please forgive me.  I promise to work on being more thoughtful and delivering my truth in love, instead of right between the eyes.