My daughter has a research paper to do for school.  Most parents cringe at hearing this, but not me.  I love words; reading, writing, exploring, and putting it all together.  I’ve known for quite a while that I’m not normal, and that’s okay with me!

The teacher has allowed her to pick her own topic for research.  It was with great delight that I began to help her research and write on The Diary of Anne Frank.  As a child, I read about her, and I was fascinated, yet horrified, at the story!  To imagine a teenager living in the days of World War II during the Holocaust was hard to comprehend, yet she wrote with such passion in her diaries that now allow us to have a glimpse into her days and her thoughts during this time period.

Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon passages contained within her diary that spoke of an unexpected love story!  Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that a love story would be tucked away inside the pages of her diary.  Yet, my heart leaped with excitement as I read her words and learned of how fond she had become of a boy named Peter.  Sharing the Secret Annex with him, she developed feelings she’d never experienced before.  It was thrilling that even in the midst of the world in utter chaos, her little heart found hope and something to cling to in such trying times.

Just recently, I shared a passage out of her diary with someone dear to me; someone who has closed themselves off emotionally due to circumstances in their past that has caused them great pain.  It saddens my heart that any individual would become so cold and numb as a result of others doing them wrong, yet it has happened.  I’m trying to help this person climb out from under years of emotional abuse at the hands of someone who was supposed to love them.  Years of this treatment has wreaked havoc on this individual, but I know they hide for fear of being hurt again.

I wonder whether you could tell me why it is that people

always try so hard to hide their real feelings? 

How is it that I am always quite different

from what I should be in other people’s company

and also quite different from what I am inside? 

Why do people trust one another so little? 

Oh, I do know there must be a reason,

but things are bad, very bad, indeed! 

~Anne Frank

The words of a 13-year-old school girl resonate with us all.  Wise beyond her years, Anne Frank leaves a legacy behind and asks some pointed questions we can all relate to.

Whenever I go upstairs now,

I keep hoping that I shall see “him.” 

Because my life now has some object

and I have something to look forward to,

everything has become more pleasant.  

At least the object of my feelings is always there,

and I needn’t be afraid of rivals (except Margot). 

You really needn’t think I’m in love, since I’m not,

but I do have the feeling all the time

that something fine can grow up between us,

something which gives confidence and friendship. 

~Anne Frank

And those feelings, no matter how you try to tuck them away, will eventually wiggle their way up from the bottom of your heart and make themselves known.  They aren’t to be feared.  Feelings aren’t right or wrong.  They just are … embrace them!  When dealing with an emotionally fragile person, much care must be given that the feelings have started to surface so no harm will come to them now.  Place your heart into my hands where I will safeguard it and handle with care.