I preached to my home congregation some time ago, and I talked in the sermon about how much I appreciated and admired my father because his mother died when he was three and his father, my grandfather, had a real drinking problem. In spite of that, my dad became a great Christian.

In the service was an aunt of mine who has always been a supporter of my ministry. But she and others in the family have repeatedly been in denial about my granddad's drinking. It's kind of a family secret.

After the sermon, my aunt came to me and said, "That wasn't true what you said about your dad's family."

When I said, "What's that?" she paused for a minute and said, "I think your dad was four when his mother died."

She just couldn't bring herself to discuss my grandfather's drinking--and that's forty years after his death. People can go a lifetime covering up. I think that's denying the truth. Love admits the truth and begins to erase it. Admitting your feeling is the beginning of healing.