Anything worthwhile in life takes time. 


When I was born, I didn’t come out of the womb running laps; I had to learn to support myself, then to crawl, then to walk, then to run. It took me a while to get the hang of it; but once I finally did, it became a vital part of the rest of my life.

The same goes for being open; with being accountable. 


It takes some time before we get to a place where we feel comfortable enough to be open with someone. Personally, it took me 28 years before I finally chose to be 100% honest with anyone. I always wanted people to trust me with the deepest parts of them, but I never felt comfortable sharing my “stuff” with them. 


Not only does it take time to get to a place where you’re ready for accountability, but it also takes time to get to the place where that relationship needs to be. What do I mean? You may think you’re ready for accountability, but when you are actually in that relationship it takes time to get to a place of being totally comfortable. 


There are still moments in my own accountability relationship where I hesitate to tell the total truth; but that is only detrimental to me. My accountability partner and I will never gain the full benefit of accountability unless we allow ourselves to be totally honest. I’m writing this from a place of imperfection in this area. I am still learning what true accountability looks like. Which only proves the point that being open takes time. 


When I chose to make myself accountable, I had a false expectation that my struggles would either stop or become easier. Not so! If anything, being open has made things more challenging; however, the challenge itself is different—the challenge now is whether or not to actually be open.

Being open will ultimately set us totally free. . . and that is a process. 


Philippians 3:12-13 says, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing; Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.”


Freedom lies ahead. 


It will take time to finally be in the place of total abandon. Do what it takes to be open, no matter how long it takes. Just remember: anything worthwhile in life takes time.