Consistency Challenge – Day Nine or Timeout for a Little Girl Talk

I live in a house with four guys – my husband and my three sons. My father-in-law lives just across the yard. I am surrounded by men all day for most days. It can get a little testosterone heavy around here.

I watch my Facebook feed, my twitter feed and other social media. I see other women I know doing things together. I hear about their meetings, their outings and their trips. I flip through the images they share.

Some days I feel left out. Days, like yesterday, when everything covers me with a heavy darkness, I feel alone. Loneliness quickly invites over its friends depression and disappointment. The darkness gets heavier. I discover I am unable to move and feel like it is getting difficult to breath.

Why?

Because we are called to be in relationships. When I see other relationships, I miss not having my own. Most of it is on me. It has been weeks since I invited a friend to coffee. It has been months since I planned an outing. I could do more.

This is where my girl talk comes in though – you could do more as well. We all get comfortable in our own little world. We forget to look beyond the moment or the situation. We miss those that are on the outside looking in and wondering why they are not a part of it.

It is not comfortable reaching outside that zone. It is called the comfort zone for a reason, after all. But it is necessary. Making new connections makes it possible for us to grow. Stretching out to include new people allows us to become more than we are right now. Building new relationships expands the possibilities of tomorrow.

Make some new connections today.

Tips for Making Connections

– Look beyond the ordinary. I homeschool my children and my connections are often homeschool moms. I need to look for opportunities to connect with women from different age ranges, experiences and even situations. Lunch with the Methodist Women’s group had been one way to make that possible.

– Stop waiting for others. I can wait for those Facebook connections to invite me to be a part of their world, or I can reach out to them or to others. I need to make that call if I want to make that connection.

– Avoid catching PLOM disease. “Poor Little Ole Me” never helped anyone do anything. I can complain because others are out there doing, but it will not make a difference in their lives and it will only bring down my life. I must make choices and changes if I want to see a difference in my life.

Remember others, but be bold in your journey. You make the difference – so do.