It’s been almost a week since I wrote this post.  And since then, forty thousand people have read it. FORTY thousand. That obviously is the most people ever to have read any post of mine, and literally accounts for a third of ALL the visitors EVER to have come to my blog in the entire six years I’ve had it. The second most viewed post I’ve ever written was this one, where I talked a little bit about where I was at emotionally eighteen months after seeing Heather Boyum tragically killed. Almost six thousand people read that one. The third most read post was another one about Ben, and the fourth? You probably guessed, another post I wrote about Heather, six months after her life was cut short.  And right after that, is this one, where I urge everyone to give, give anything. . . because there’s so much to give.

Normally, I’m lucky to have two hundred people read any regular post I write. And the ones that get two hundred are usually personal ones. People sort of could care less about the posts I put up about my photo shoots. I mainly do that for the client’s benefit. . . everyone wants to be featured on a blog! But strangers rarely read these.

People want personal. People want transparency. People are drawn to things of the heart. Things that matter. Things that stick with us and make us feel something.

I think that’s why so many people have been drawn to Mindy as well, and the writing on her blog. It’s because she goes deeper than the, Yes, our son just passed away a week ago, and we are very sad, but rejoicing that he’s in heaven. She digs deep down and allows us into her heart. Her blog post links fly all over Facebook by people sharing them, because people are just drawn to the raw emotion, brutal honesty and amazing faith that she writes about.

The world is a hateful, disgusting, terrible place–but it is also filled with a lot of good too. And the good in a lot of people want to rejoice when others rejoice. Mourn when others mourn. And support those who are in need of it.

So, please, don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. . . to show a little emotion. Me? Well, I rarely do it in person, but on the occasion that I do, it’s in writing. And as I’ve seen from the numbers, people respond. They reach out. They pray. They cry. They smile. They love.