I’ve known Emilee for almost two years now. I met her at an after school program I worked for my first year in Birmingham. I always knew I liked her. She just radiates cool, but in that non-threatening, “I could be friends with her” way. We share a passion for telling kids about Jesus, and as we recently discovered, a passion for writing. Her vulnerability when she writes in truly heartbreaking, but in the best kind of way. When she writes, I feel what she feels. I see the picture she is painting with her words as if I had experienced it myself. And when I read this poem of hers, I knew I had to post it on my blog. While reading it, there were numerous times when I said, “YES! that’s exactly how I felt. that’s exactly what I would do.”And I’m challenged to be just as vulnerable in my writings as she is in hers.

Thanks for being my friend, Em, and for reminding me of the beauty found in opening our hearts and minds to others.