{in conversations}

I'm a little overwhelmed.

Good overwhelmed, I think, mostly.

Thank you all so, so, so much for all the beautiful emails and comments and texts and Facebook messages and notes and phone calls...! I couldn't believe it. It was like an avalanche. Of hearts. Or, you know, whatever. A lovalanche. (Dictionary that, Webster.)

The most surprising thing happened about five minutes after I posted the video on Tuesday. And it happened again about half an hour later. And it happened again two minutes after that. And it happened again, and again, and again, and every time it happened it completely surprised me and brought me to tears and it's still happening and it's beautiful and kind of heartbreaking and completely humbling but so amazing.

I got this email that started out, "I'm crying right now because I know how this feels..."

That email was from someone I've never met. The next email was from someone I know. The next email was from someone I haven't talked to in seven years.

Some of the emails were short and vague, some were long and detailed. There were stories about infertility and miscarriages and illnesses and waiting and singleness and some of the stories had happy endings and some of the stories were still hopeful and, you know, some of the stories were very hard to read because they just didn't end the way that you'd want them to end. I was and am so touched at the way that people reached out--even often in the midst of their own grief--to say that they got it and to share such a personal part of their lives with me.

The result has been some amazing conversations about life and faith and disappointment and hope. I've been checking my email like a lunatic and crying over people I've never met and feeling so encouraged by their stories and their perspectives. It's pretty beautiful.

I guess it's a good lesson for me in being open. It's good to know the boundaries--the difference between sharing your heart when it's appropriate and attacking people with your crazy monster emotions every single time you open your mouth. But I feel like a lot of people want to talk about this stuff.

And sometimes, in conversations, you have to go first.