What the World Needs, Desperately

My parenting post – the one that went viral and is still being read by imperfect parents like me – is being featured on HuffPost Parents today. You can check it out here.The expected response perhaps would be a cocktail of “aww, shucks” mixed with a shot of “being humbled” and a splash of “It’s all God, not me.”I’m offering none of that.I’m pumped. Excited. Thrilled.Just the act of creating -- pouring your guts and blood and sweat and truth into something that is really from you – takes courage.  That’s reason enough to dance and eat ice cream at 10:00am.But when it’s received by someone else, in a big or small way, it’s time to party.To laugh.To celebrate.To cry and remember that this world is sometimes tragic, and we need art and beauty to survive. Yes, they’re that necessary.On Monday, HuffPost Parents will post Mary’s beautiful piece about Ben noticing her stretch marks on her belly after giving birth to the twins, and about what she said to Ben in that redemptive moment.So, at the Wiens house, snow on May 3rd or not, it’s time to celebrate.And perhaps at your house, in a different way, you can celebrate what you’ve had the courage to put out there. And the point is not to get it picked up. The point is to put it out there in the most honest, true-to-you way possible, and it will connect. So if you haven’t put it out there, please, put it out there. Don’t be afraid. Don’t wait until it’s perfect.The trolls will always be trolls, but there are so many more beautiful and generous people who will receive what you give, whose heart will break because of the beauty of who you are and what you’re willing to pour out.That is what the world needs, desperately.