6 a.m. Conversations

If you can’t be honest in your relationship, then you’re not in a relationship…you’re in a performance. And performing gets exhausting real quick.

We love to say, “Communication is key,” but what we really mean is: “Communication is key, as long as it doesn’t make me uncomfortable.”

But that ain’t how love works.

Honesty isn’t always pretty.
Sometimes it’s awkward.
Sometimes it stings.
Sometimes it forces you to admit you’re not as perfect as you pretend.
Sometimes it exposes the parts of you you’d rather keep covered.

But let me tell you something only experience teaches you: The truth might shake the relationship for a moment but lies will shatter it permanently.

A man who has loved and lost knows this. You don’t lose people because the truth hurts. You lose them because the truth came too late. Honesty isn’t just about confessing what you did wrong, it’s about expressing what you actually feel.

It’s saying:

• “That hurt me.”
• “I feel disconnected.”
• “I’m overwhelmed.”
• “I need more reassurance.”
• “I’m struggling mentally.”
• “I need help.”
• “I’m not okay but I want to be.”

It’s being real before resentment builds.

Because resentment is quiet. Resentment smiles in pictures. Resentment says “I’m fine” with a straight face. Resentment cooks dinner and does laundry and shows up, while dying inside.

Honesty is the medicine that prevents that sickness. Now listen, honesty doesn’t mean being reckless.
There’s a difference between being truthful and being cruel. Telling the truth isn’t a free pass to lose your filter.

Grown honesty sounds like, “I care enough about us to tell you the truth gently.”

Not, “I’m about to say this with no regard for your feelings.” That’s not honesty, that’s emotional laziness.

Let me tell you something I learned the hard way. Your partner should never have to guess where they stand with you. They shouldn’t have to read your silence like a mystery novel. They shouldn’t have to decode your moods, reactions, or disappearances.

Speak. Even when it’s uncomfortable. Even when you’re scared it might change things. Even when you don’t have the perfect words.

Silence builds walls. Honesty builds bridges. And bridges keep relationships from drifting apart.

Imagine holding something in something small but annoying.
You tell yourself, “It’s not worth bringing up.” So you don’t.
Then a week goes by, then a month, then a year and suddenly something tiny has grown into something toxic.

Ask yourself, what uncomfortable truth have you been avoiding, that honesty could’ve healed months ago?

Loving by HIS Word–“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” Ephesians 4:25

Truth spoken with love is a spiritual act. It brings clarity, unity, and healing where silence builds division.

6 a.m. Quote—Honesty doesn’t destroy relationships, silence and pretending do.

Marlon Dean–6 a.m. Conversations “Where love meets faith, one day at a time”