Day 10 – What You Hide Will Hurt You

April 10, 2026 — Friday

Fridays are different.

No church responsibilities.
No staff meetings.

Just space to build.

ROI.
Coaching.
Content.

And yesterday was full.

Momentum Building Again

I had two sales calls.

Both went well.

Strong conversations.
Clear alignment.

Looks like I’ll be bringing on two new clients.

And for a moment, it felt familiar…

Like stepping back into a rhythm I know well.

Building.
Closing.
Growing.

A Different Kind of Message

But the real weight of the day wasn’t in the calls.

It was in the message.

I spent several hours recording a teaching for ROI

And somewhere in the middle of it…

I realized something:

I love this.

Not just speaking.

Not just teaching.

But delivering something that actually connects.

Something that comes from experience.

The Message I Didn’t Want to Learn

The topic was simple,

The danger of bottling up stress.

Of carrying everything silently.

Of leading on the outside…

While breaking on the inside.

And the reason it hit so hard is because…

I’ve lived it.

What Happened a Year Ago

Almost exactly one year ago.

Easter Sunday.

I was serving in production at the church.

Backstage. Ready to go.

And I felt something on my face.

A burning sensation.

At first, I ignored it.

Because that’s what leaders do, right?

The show must go on.

That’s what I learned in Hollywood.

Push through.
Perform.
Handle it later.

But it didn’t go away.

It got worse.

So right after service…

I was rushed to the ER.

Diagnosis:

Shingles.

What the Doctor Said

I remember asking:

“Isn’t that something older people get?”

They laughed.

And then said something I won’t forget:

“Chris… this is stress-induced.”

What I Didn’t See Coming

All the pressure.
All the anxiety.
All the weight I was carrying…

And hiding

Didn’t disappear.

It just… moved.

From internal…

To physical.

The Lie Leaders Believe

Here’s the lie:

“If I don’t talk about it…
I can manage it.”

But that’s not how it works.

Because what you suppress—

Doesn’t stay buried.

It finds another way out.

What I’m Learning Now

You can look strong…

And still be breaking.

You can lead well…

And still be carrying too much.

You can show up every day…

And still be completely overwhelmed.

And if you don’t deal with it…

It will deal with you.

A Better Way Forward

What I’m starting to understand is this:

Stress isn’t the problem.

Silence is.

Avoidance is.

Isolation is.

Because healing doesn’t happen in hiding.

The Tension

As a leader,

How do you stay strong…

Without pretending you’re not struggling?

How do you carry responsibility…

Without letting it crush you?

I don’t have that fully figured out yet.

But I know ignoring it isn’t the answer.

The Anchor

“Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28

Not push through.

Not hide it.

Come to Him.

Closing Thought

I used to think strength meant holding it all together.

Now I’m starting to see it differently:

What you hide…
will eventually show up.

The question is…

Will it show up in a healthy way…

Or a breaking point?