Communication is Key

I’ve been learning a lot about communication recently. I always heard, “communication is key,” and like, sure, but I never really understood the full benefit until this year. I’ve had a lot of hard conversations that I avoided for a long time before having them, and always regretted not having had them sooner. I’ve bridged gaps in friendships simply by speaking my mind and letting them have the space to speak theirs. I’ve been talking with people a lot more about hard things, like politics and theology and other topics that make people (including me) generally uncomfortable. A lot can be solved through civilized discussion— and I don’t mean we solve the issues themselves, but those personal tensions and misunderstandings that we have when we don’t talk about it. I learned that I can’t figure everything out on my own and neither can other people, so it’s best if we try to figure it out together. Like Albert Mohler said, “we are creatures made to ask questions. It is an act of Christian faithfulness to run into questions and not away from them.” I want to know what you think. I want to hear what you believe. And then I want you to listen to what I think and believe. And then you and I can make a decision for myself what we think. And I’m slowly learning that it’s okay for what I think to be: “I don’t know. I can’t decide.” So long as we listen to each other.

Written November 2019.