Thinking back to my three months in Discipleship Training School before I headed to Africa some memories stand out in my memory. There were afternoons spent with my Somali friend, Hawa. There were jogs and Tae Bo in the mornings. There were evenings volunteering at a local soup kitchen, The Mana Cafe. There were times of worship. There times of intense prayer.

I remember snippets of conversations and discussions. One of those snippets is of a girl, that I quite respected, declaring adamantly during one of our teaching times (the context I do not remember, sadly), "I'm emotional and I'm proud of it!" At the time I was perplexed by the fervor with which she stated that fact. I could relate to the emotional part - I am one of the more emotional females you will probably meet. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I feel deeply for other people. I didn't understand why she added the part about being proud, or why she said it with such ferocity.

Coming up on three years later, I understand now. I've had close friends get frustrated with my emotions. I've had relationships end because I'm too emotional. I've had coworkers roll their eyes at me. I've even had family members that just can't fathom what is going on inside of me.

I've taken steps and I've overcome a lot of the unhealthy aspects of the emotions. But I am still an emotional person. And I'm proud of it. That's the way God made me. I believe that my ability to feel deeply for other people and take their pain upon me as if it were my own is part of my Spiritual gift. It can all become so overwhelming, but I believe it's the way God wants me to be.

I still cry easier than other people. I choose to be thankful that I can feel emotions at such a deep level. My way of processing events are often tears and conversations. I'm sorry that it makes some people uncomfortable, but I'm not sorry for being this way. It is who I am and I am choosing to embrace what God has made.