“Risking to speak the truth,” this week’s column honestly reveals some of the inner sufferings of many helpers and “healers” who try to help others who suffer.

Excerpt from “When the Healer Could Use Some Healing”

“Thankfully, there were colleagues I could be honest with and confide in—a Jewish rabbi, a Presbyterian minister, a Buddhist priest. And, perhaps not surprising, I often found great solace in sharing at least some of my struggles with members of my own unusual congregations. Some of the most compassionate people I ever met were locked in jail cells, sleeping in shelters or tents, or survivors of breakdowns or addiction—people well acquainted with suffering. There were moments when their handshake or hug meant more than they could ever know to one “walking wounded healer.”

Much has been said about “boundaries,” and I respect those; maybe I’m spilling a little too much of my personal story here, but I’ve listened to enough people over the years to sense these honest reflections (admissions, confessions?) can have an impact. Risking to speak the truth from our own experience can bend barriers. Yet, sometimes one word of unfiltered truth can do more than a scripture, sermon, or an entire seminary course.”