5 days until National Coming Out Day - What Are You Hiding?

We all have things about us which we'd like to change. But it's critical that we own these things about ourselves as well. Whether they can be changed or not, we need to accept that these are things about ourselves.

I deal with low self-esteem and anxiety. I can choose to deny this, but it won't help me.

What happens when we live in denial? At the very least, we fail to deal with the very issues that trouble us. At the worst, we're caught in hypocrisy.

People have laughed at Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.), Reverend Ted Haggard, Florida State Rep. Bob Allen , Louisiana St. Bernard Parish Councilman Joey DiFatta, and others. Yet a compassionate heart recognizes these people have lived in fear and denial, unable to find a healthy way to deal with an important part of their lives. The better choice is to pray for these men, that they will come to come out to themselves - to recognize their same-sex attraction. Recognizing an issue is the first step to dealing with it.

So what are you hiding? What's your secret?

You don't have to tell me.

You don't have to tell anyone.

Except yourself.