No, that isn't your best colour

This morning as I was drinking my coffee and reading Proverbs, this verse popped off the page at me.

"An honest answer is a sign of true friendship". Proverbs 24:26 (TEV)

Does that ring true for anyone else?

I value my friends, each one of them, but there are some friends I know will give me a straight-up answer. Sure, at times they beat around the bush and try to find the gentlest way of saying it, but eventually they say what I need to hear. To be honest, I don't often ask people's opinions. I don't know what that is all about.... Sure I ask about how I should get my hair cut (to be precise, I ask multiple friends this approx every 8 weeks), I ask colleagues teaching questions, I ask my husband just about everything, but when it comes to the tough stuff, I tend to try to figure it out myself.

Here's an 'honesty' example. A colleague and I were chatting and the topic of clothing came up. I told her how excited I was to be making a girls trip to my hometown, and that I had even bought a new dress, in my absolute favorite colour - navy. She then proceeded to tell me how navy isn't my best colour. Can you say devastated! My favorite colour to wear for the past hundred years, and someone NOW tells me it isn't really 'my' colour!
Honest? Maybe.
A true friend - yes.

(I'd love to post a picture of me in that navy dress, but for *some* reason I don't like any of the pics of me in that dress.... ).

A better example of someone speaking truth to me was today after church. I told my friend how I had an upcoming meeting with someone on our church staff, and we would be chatting about where I was going to serve this year. (I have served for over 4 years in our children's ministry, but took this summer off to recuperate after my daughter had some medical issues and a hospital stay in June). My friend asked me how I would respond and gently prodded. I told her one area that I thought I would be interested in (which is not in children's ministry) and she reminded me that throughout this year I had given enough clues to her when chatting that it really is time for a change. I didn't ask this friend for her advice or her opinion, but a true friend speaks truth.

Sometimes we need the honest truth. If you are hearing from a friend to slow down, or maybe they suggest you are doing too much, or you need to look after yourself, chances are they are a true friend.

Do you have true friends that will give you an honest answer?