A moment of vulnerability that I will never forget… The day my best friend and I told our team that one of their coaches had been called to fight the greatest fight of them all. The fight for her life.

We couldn’t even get the words out, we were battling inside, we didn’t understand why this was happening to our best friend, the one that was the glue to absolutely everything. But we knew we had to tell them. We needed them.

The team had never seen Leah cry, they had no idea what was happening. Before Leah could even mumble out the word “cancer”, the girls saw that Coach needed all the support she could get. When the news poisoned the room, their hearts bursted in pain, their eyes filled with tears, and before you knew it every arm in the room was around the woman who seemed once untouchable. The strongest, wisest, smartest, toughest soul had just broken down. Her shell had shattered and the girls melted around her. They saw the raw Leah, which no other team had ever seen.

They saw the pain, the courage, and the sorrow in the eyes of someone who they once saw as “perfect”. Leah’s shattered armor attracted their love in abundance, and it warranted a bond that will never be broken. . . . They, now, saw their coach as human; imperfect and real. Someone they, now, love more than they ever did before. . Victory truly does go to the vulnerable. I believe that with everything in me. . .

That year, our team placed 4th at the conference championship tournament (out of 16) and Sarah kicked cancer’s ass, and still has a clean bill of health today! . #FINB

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Do you ever wonder why it’s hard for others to open up to you?

Maybe it is because vulnerability is HARD. It’s hard to put yourself out there and hope that you won’t be judged or ridiculed. Laughed at or ignored! But I challenge you to do it anyway. The results will astonish you.

Though I know it’s hard, I know you can do hard things! Dig deep for that relationship, that tough conversation with your parent, and grow a stronger bond than you thought possible.

Be Vulnerable, I am here for you.