Jessica Henry - My Hero and a Woman of Action

Many of my favorite qualities, the things I appreciate most in people can be found in my daughter, Jessica Henry. More than anything, she loves people and is quick to act to help people. She's very much a barbarian as defined by Erwin McManus in The Barbarian Way. Like a barbarian (and her dad), sometimes she doesn't fit well. Barbarians don't fit well when there's not a battle to be fought. Barbarians need a cause. We're clumsy in a civilized culture. In the absence of a battle, barbarians seem out of place.

Jessica loves a battle; she's all in for a good cause. She's always looking for a way to make a difference or a way to change things. She has several friends that talk about change, but few actually take any real action. Jessica is always trying something, tweaking something, looking for ways to improve on something. Sometimes all of that critical focus makes you negative, but Jessica has a great heart, a cheerful disposition and a brilliant, electric contagious smile.

But if you ask for her help, be prepared to get to work. Don't ask her to help you think about something. Action is her middle name. If you want her to help, you better have a plan, or she'll throw a plan in for free. She won't let you fail, unless you fail to act. She also gets hurt, many times by showing up for a fight only to find out it was really a dance, or a spitting contest. Sometimes she gets hurt because people really don't want the type of barbarian she can be. She can't help it, but neither can they. So sometimes she doesn't fit and it hurts.

But she fits with me. She's my hero! She is a brave and special barbarian, one of a kind.

I am proud of you and I love you very much. I thank God for letting you be my daughter.

Love, Dad.