45 & truth

Today is my 45th birthday and it is a day bearing grief. Not because I am aging, but because it marks the two year anniversary of the horrible and sudden loss of a precious friend.  For this post, I wish to leave the personal remembrances aside and focus on just one aspect of who she was.   

She was a truth teller. 
Our current culture is seeking a way to be open about things that were previously hidden.  My friend knew that hiding wickedness is not the same as "covering a multitude of sins".  So, she humbly schooled us all in how to love through wise exposure.  She succeeded in strengthening others in their individual struggle against the forces of darkness.  Myself included. 

I've often contemplated, just where did she get that amazing strength to speak and act?  And I realize that my question seeks only to give me an "out", for it implies that she simply was given something that I was not-- strength.  (Like what we do when a pianist plays beautifully and we chalk it up to talent, ignoring hours of dedicated practice.)  No, upon reflection, I've come to see that it was her love of The Truth that imbued her with a quiet confidence to take the next step, say the next words, do the next thing.  Nothing magical about it.  Good old fashioned love and faith at work.

It is this Love and Faith from which I take inspiration today. I purpose to love the truth and speak the truth, because I love The Truth.