JM#13: Your words undid me
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Entry #13 • November 18th, 2025 Well. Don’t mind me…just a puddle of tears over here. Not even kidding. I just—I don’t even have words. Last week I shared about my business coach who passed away almost six years ago. And then at the end of that email, I added a fancy-schmancy little poll so you could tell me how you interact with this Just Me series. The feedback was going to be massively helpful to make sure I’m writing something worth your time and inbox space while also honoring my own time and creative outlet.
I could see many of you interacted with it, which humbled me so much. Unfortunately, my “trick the system” method failed, and I wasn’t able to see any actual results. Whomp whomp. The good news: I know exactly what I did wrong and can fix it next time. The bad news: I’m going to ask you to do it once more and then hold my breath that you will. I’m giving you two ways to answer this survey (please…please do it again for me 🥲). Option #1: Answer the same quick questions (it’s like 30 seconds, max!) here on this Google sheet. OR Option #2: Answer the questions again directly in this email (at the end). It WILL work this time. So even if you already did it on the last email, please redo it here. The last one was…wrong. Please don’t do both options. And for those of you Colorado Baby Insiders who got my text last week about my faux pas—if you already filled out the Google form, you’re set. There is one more optional question for you at the bottom of this email re: birth stories. When Your Words Meet My HeartNow, why did I open this email saying I’m a puddle of tears? Because the survey failed? No. Because part of it actually worked. That final, open-ended question—the one where I encouraged you to reply and tell me “Why do you open and read Just Me?”—a generous handful of you wrote back. And I truly have no words. I was on a co-working coffee date with a friend when she snapped this photo of me (unbeknownst to me) while I was reading one of the replies from a Dear Reader. I was holding my jaw up in this part of the picture. Shortly after, it was on the floor. Pinkie promise. I am floored by you all—utterly speechless. Side note: thanks Mom, for the killer dimples. I don’t usually see them since they’re on my own face, but a few of my kids inherited them and I always think they look cute. It’s kind of weird to see them on myself 🤣 The Scariest YesStepping into writing Just Me was one of the scariest things I’ve done. I know that sounds a little ridiculous now that I type it. There are people out there who do genuinely scary things all the time (fight wildfires, for example), so it feels silly to put writing in that category. But it was scary for me. It was scary to put words to something so raw and personal and then make it public. Invite outsiders in. Not my closest friends, but anyone who might click “open.” And then know that once I’ve invited them in, I can’t Men-in-Black their memory and make them forget what they read. And yes, I’m trying to be a little funny here, but honestly, I physically wanted to throw up after those first two entries. I knew the moment I hit send, those words were out there for good. And I’d run the risk of running into readers out in public. Grand Junction isn’t that big when you’ve lived here 36 of your 39 years. But when I feel God has called me to something, I’m better off obeying than not. I’ve had many moments where I did the uncomfortable thing and saw no “return” from it. And that can leave me asking, “Okay God, but why? What was the purpose?” I’ve learned not to question too much. Just do the thing and move forward. Leave the rest in His hands. Trust that He sees the whole picture I can’t. Do the thing. Move forward. Obey. One Dear Reader shared how the story from Entry 5—about the lady sitting on the bench I awkwardly approached—pushed her through her own uncomfortable moment. She put herself out there. (Seriously, join me in applause for this Dear Reader pushing through the yuck because she felt compelled.) And within minutes of “being obedient” to that inner nudge, she received positive feedback. The person she reached out to responded right away, and now they have a budding friendship. Completely unexpected. But she felt the nudge and responded. She did the scary thing. And then things happened. Good things. Does it always play out like that? Absolutely not. I could list plenty of stories where I obeyed and never saw any visible impact. But I’ve learned to trust that God can use it in ways I may never see. And so, back to this Just Me series. I was telling my sister-in-law, who’s visiting from Mexico, how it all began. I told her I’ve imagined doing something like this for years—some way to capture my stories and share them. I’ve mulled over so many mediums: video through a YouTube channel, a podcast (that’s literally in my journal from 2017), maybe short snippets on Instagram. My personal Instagram handle from a million years ago even has “stories” in it because I was teeing myself up for this moment… just in case. I’ve hemmed and hawed about it forever. But this summer pushed me to the breaking point. It finally felt like a do-or-die moment. I’d been writing chaotic (to put it lightly) store newsletters for a few months and actually enjoyed them. What if I wrote my stories in a more intimate way for those who wanted to follow along? Some of you may remember that the first Just Me entry was originally written for the general store newsletter. But as soon as I read through it and edited, I thought…absolutely not. Sending something that raw to 5,000 unsuspecting Colorado Baby customers felt wildly inappropriate. So I pulled it out and instead invited people to opt in to this separate spin-off, Just Me. I still think that was the wise call: don’t blow up the store newsletter with vivid, personal journal entries. A Charge I Didn't ExpectI told my sister-in-law what happened just before I announced that I was starting this new email series. I mentioned it in an earlier entry, but it’s worth bringing up again and peeling back a little more. One night, during my daily Bible reading, I came across these verses in Isaiah. I stopped in my tracks. Every line felt hand-picked by God for me. It was as though He was giving me a personal charge—a mission through Just Me. And while I couldn’t (and still don’t) understand all of it, He gave me enough to move forward. Enough to obey. I want to share how my brain dissected these verses into a personal charge. Isaiah 58:10-12 10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, 11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, 12 And they that shall be of thee Once again, I’m questioning if I’m saying more than I should. What I mean by that is this feels so raw. So intimate. These are really quiet moments in my life between me and my Lord. However, I want you to see how real God’s word is—how alive it is. And while I know those verses were written thousands of years ago about something entirely different, not penned for Megan in 2025, somehow God can take “ancient” words and make them living in my life today. He can take them and breathe direction into the parts of my journey that aren’t fully clear yet. When I read those verses, I knew I had to move forward with writing these emails. I had no idea if God would use them or how He might. All I knew was I needed to obey. I never could have imagined the responses I’ve received. What you’ve shared back has been such a gift—encouragement to keep going, to keep writing, to keep sharing. “These emails have been a rope out in sea for me. A tether, to another mom who’s also going through her own sea, and faithfully walking out her relationship with the Lord even though she’s been bruised and battered by the waves. Truly your testimony during this summer/fall has been such an encouragement and has really helped me to not feel so alone while working through my own struggles in this season.” –Dear Reader N “I’ve been following JM from the beginning and I’ve really enjoyed it. (Tried to find a different word since that one seems like it doesn’t quite fit, and yet it does.) I don’t really know how to describe it, like cold water on my feet. It startles me and makes me laugh. You’ve made me cry more than once. I guess it’s just nice to live in someone else’s world for a moment, to really try to empathize even though I know I can’t really understand what you’re going through.” –Dear Reader C “…it feels like a little window into your world which is unique and fascinating. It challenges my preconceived notions and expands my mind to think about things differently. It’s also encouraging and honest and I love that!” –Dear Reader M “It keeps me going!” –Dear Reader B “I love reading about your stories, life, struggles and victories, because it helps me relate and feel like I’m not alone in my mom world, or emotions or thoughts.” –Dear Reader T “These entries are like reading a great book that you don’t want to end.” –Dear Reader K “Your entries of Just Me make me feel seen.” –Dear Reader N “For me, the Just Me series is a spiritual boost each week.” –Dear Reader J Every message you’ve sent, every reply, every quiet “me too” has reminded me why obedience matters even when I don’t know the outcome. I still don’t know all the ways God might use these entries, but I do know this: He’s already used them to knit together something tender and real between us. If you’re willing, I’d be grateful if you filled out the quick survey again. It helps me discern how to steward this space well. Google Survey OR Email Survey (please commit to one) TEXT INSIDERS - I forgot to include this question in the Google survey originally. If you filled out that survey before I added this question, feel free to answer it now in the email: Would you be interested in reading about my birth stories?
Your Thoughts on Just Me#1 Audio Version I’m toying with adding an audio version of each entry (read by me). It would be a small, optional subscription—like $7/month (about the price of a matcha ❤️). #2 Reading Rhythm How do you usually read Just Me? #3 Frequency How does the weekly rhythm feel to you? #4 Anticipation How do Just Me emails usually find you?
#5 Entry Length How does the length of Just Me feel to you?
#6 Open-Ended Why do you open and read Just Me? (I’d genuinely love to know—feel free to reply to this email and tell me.) Thank you so much, Dear Readers. -Just Me[gan]
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