My bag is full

Lately, I have been trying so hard to keep "it" together. I have to be the strong one. The problem is I am also experiencing one of the most needy periods of my life. The metaphor coming to mind is a bag or purse full of stuff. The stuff consists of all the needs, hurts, wants, desires, etc. I experience. My bag is meant to be shared with others (those God has provided, something I learned from my friend Dave who learned it from Henri Nouwen). Most of the time I think nobody would be interested in seeing what is inside my bag. So I keep it zipped up. The problem is the more I keep my bag zipped up, the bigger the stuff in my bag becomes. Yesterday, the zipper burst open and I let myself be needy. There was deep pain in holding on. One of my statements was "I am trying to hold everything together and feel like if someone just tugged on a strings I would fall apart." I did fall apart but, it was so beautiful. I am a broken, needy person. For the first time in a long while I rejoice in my brokenness. By showing my friends what was inside my bag I made myself nakedly vulnerable. And their response was "Mitch, we like you so much more when you show us your vulnerability...it makes you seem strong to us." Talk about validation as a human.

P.S. My wife is a mindreader. She sensed yesterday from a look I gave her that I was totally confused...actually her words were "You looked at me with a I don't know what to do face." She is so supportive and loving!