Lord, I have been putting this conversation off for weeks.
I have rehearsed it in the shower. I have rewritten the opening line a dozen times. I have changed my mind about whether to have it at all.
It needs to be had. I know it. You know it.
Go ahead of me into the room. Soften the other person's defensiveness before I get there. Soften mine.
Help me say what is true without saying it cruelly. Help me listen even when what I hear back is not what I wanted. Help me not win the conversation — help me restore the relationship, or end it honestly if it is time.
Truth in love. Both. Not one or the other. Both at once.
When I leave the room, let what was unsaid be smaller than it was when I walked in. That is enough for one conversation.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.