While we are called to show strength during times of struggle, we are also required to surrender to softness. We simply can't only muscle through. The way through is a soft heart and a strong back, my friend Stephanee told me when I shared with her my struggles over being so sensitive and emotional so many years ago.

As a kid, I was always majorly intrigued by confessional scenes in movies like the one in Flashdance! The dimly lit space I imagine smelling like Frankincense, the mysterious presence behind the partition, the downtrodden expression on the confessor.

When I was little, I prayed. But it was really more of an OCD. My own version of If I die before I wake...was an anxious plea to keep myself, family and friends safe, healthy, happy, and alive.