Truth hurts. It's a saying we have all heard. The question is: do we actually realize how much it can hurt? I know I did not.

It was years ago, but I still remember. I must have been between six and eight years old. My grandparents (who had adopted me and whom I called "Mom" and "Dad") and I went to my biological mother's graduation, but it is the aftermath that is branded into my memory.

My biological mother had never been attentive or affectionate. In fact, she had an extreme dislike to being touched, so embracing me was not usually an option. However, that night she was different. I ran up to her after the ceremony and was extraordinarily pleased when she picked me up and held me. I was so exhilarated that I ran up to her again and again. Time after time, my action was rewarded with affection.

Do not misunderstand. Mom gave me more affection, attention, nurturing, and love than any child could ever want. What drove me that night was the desperate need to be loved by my biological mother. In my young, subconscious mind, she was finally assuaging a hurt and filling an empty hole that had been there since day one. But in reality, I had no comprehension of what was truly happening.

The next morning, Mom carried a heavy burden upon her shoulders - the burden of telling me what had actually transpired that night. Exposing the truth was probably one of the hardest things she ever had to do. The truth was that my biological mother had not shown affection out of love, but had used it as a tool to show her friends what a wonderful mother she was. In reality, it was nothing but a facade.

Needless to say, after that night, she was as distant as ever.

Had the true meaning of her actions not been revealed, the confusion and hurt that were sure to follow would have been a crushing blow. God bless my Mom for preventing the heartache that would have followed had I been left to believe the lie that had played out that night!

Moving forward, Mom took precautions and set boundaries with my biological mother, thus creating safer interactions that ensured she would never wield as much power to hurt me as she had up to that point. Life truly became easier with such safeguards in place.

The old saying is true. Truth does hurt, but it also liberates. Without the truth, we stumble around in the dark, unsure of what is actually happening. When the truth is revealed, it shines a bright light on our surroundings and opens our eyes to the way things truly are.

No matter how much it hurts, I desire truth. What about you?