Tonight was a monumental night in my life.
Okay, so maybe not monumental, but I did have a huge realization: I'm making connections and building relationships.
Making connections might not seem out of the ordinary for you, and it's not really out of the ordinary for me. But tonight I realized how important those connections are.
As many of you know, 2 years ago I accepted a job in Arkansas working for a family friend at his furniture company. I was the manager of the show room, and I worked 8 hours a day in the store by myself. Then I went home to an empty apartment, and spent more time alone. I was attending a church of 7,000+ people, and sitting in service by myself. I was craving connections! I wanted so badly to have friends I could just call up and say "Hey, I'm bored. Want to hang out tonight?" But I didn't have those friends. I hadn't made connections. Yet.
Fast forward to tonight, two years later, and I have made so many connections that now I'm the person that runs into someone they know everywhere they go! Two things triggered this epiphany. First, a friend posted on Facebook and asked if anyone had a hairdresser in town and I was able to make a recommendation. And second, I was invited to come to a women's ministry planning meeting to discuss options for women's gatherings in the upcoming year.
I have a hairdresser (which is a commitment). And I have friends here that I can recommend my hairdresser to. I've made enough connections that I can make recommendations and have people to make these recommendations to. That's a huge step up from where I was 2 years ago!
And then there's the women's ministry meeting. I was invited to this event to come share my story about connecting with other women at our church, and to share my opinion about what events we can plan for the future.
For those of you who know me, more often than not, sharing in this type of a group setting is a very difficult thing for me. When it's people I don't know well, it takes me several minutes to work up the courage to talk, and my face starts burning and I can feel the heat start near my jaw and work its way all the way up to the tips of my ears. Tonight, in this group of women I barely know, that was not the case. I felt comfortable, because we were connecting over something we are all passionate about: connecting women with other women.
Two years ago, I never thought I'd be this connected in my community, and I definitely didn't think I'd be helping others get connected. I was barely staying afloat in just trying to make a couple of friends, so coming to a place where I would be the connection point for others seemed impossible.
All of this to say that sometimes the thing that seems impossible, the thing that causes you the greatest anxiety, the thing that you think you'll never succeed at, the thing that you want to give up on completely, that those things are NOT impossible. They are such an important part of your story, and who you are! Keep pushing through these monumental mountains, and share your story along the way, and when you get to the other side! Expose the deepest parts of your heart. Share things that you might think are trivial. This is what allows us to connect with others and build a community of people who care for each other. You are not alone, so be bold and share with others. Put yourself in situations that take you outside your comfort zone. Be brave and have some faith that God will bring you through it. Trust Him to provide the people you need in your life, and He will provide. He did for me!
