This Girl

I look in the mirror
And see a face

A face unfamiliar and new

Looking back at me

A new person

I don't recognize

A girl

Dark and Frightening

Her eyes watch

Guarded but searching

Darkened but still glowing softly
Reflecting thoughts emotions and dreams

Her mouth parts

Asking scary questions

Giving even scarier answers

Sharing thoughts mysterious and bold

Her heart beats

Broken and exposed

Feeling everything so deeply

Both ecstatic and grieving

Her mind turns

Open and thoughtful

Trying new ideas

Thinking new thoughts

Where is the girl I knew?

The girl who stayed hidden and naive

The girl whose heart was so strong

The girl who kept inside the lines

The girl who lived so cautiously

The girl who stayed protected

The girl who was so safe

She's gone

She is no more

This new girl has taken her place

This girl who faces the rain and dark

This girl whose broken heart still beats

This girl who steps out of the borders

This girl who lives so recklessly

This girl who feels everything so deeply

This girl who is so vulnerable

But as I look at this new girl

A strange thought comes into my head

"Is this new girl really so bad?"

Who said facing the rain and the dark is taboo?
Maybe it's what helps make us shine.

Who said being broken is something to avoid?
Maybe being broken makes us stronger

Who said stepping out of the lines is wrong?
Maybe it's how progress is made

Who said living recklessly is bad?
Maybe that's what makes life interesting

Who said feeling things is a danger?
Maybe that's what makes us human

Who said being vulnerable is a problem?
Maybe that's how we live life to the fullest

And as I think I realize that maybe

Just maybe 
This girl, so bold and unguarded
Is just as special
Is just as powerful
And just as beautiful
As the girl I used to see

And that maybe
Just maybe
This girl, daring and vulnerable

Is exactly who God made me to be