Creating an opportunity for connection could include being transparent and authentic in what we post on social media. There can be too much disconnection, both physically and emotionally, in today’s online world. But what if we used this for good? There is a great opportunity to connect with people and places that you would have never had the opportunity without the internet.

For example, I have crunchy-mom, essential-oil loving friends from all over the United States. Some cousins/relatives in different states that would only have contact maybe once a decade if we did not see each other’s pics on Facebook. It helps to stay current with how much our kids have grown up! I participate in a BSF online leader’s meeting via Zoom with leaders from Uganda, Botswana, Benin, Nigeria, Norway, and various states in the U.S. I lead a BSF bible study online on Tuesday evenings with women from MN, KS, AL, AZ, CA, and more!

I have grown in different ways with these different women, and I have been available to help them grow as well. There is beauty in that! If it wasn’t for technology, how much smaller would our world be?

There is still something simple and beautiful to local friends as well. Someone you see in the grocery store and their smile brightens your day, someone you see on the road on your way to a dentist appointment, and home-school moms that you coop with every other week to teach each other’s kids. There are also the people you go to church with every week. Last but not least, there are the people you have into your home for a meal and a visit.

We often limit this opportunity for connection. We think it has to be only in-person, or we make it all online. We often view it as “either/or”, but why not “both and more”! The connection you have online can be just as authentic as someone in person. Maybe even more so because you are both in the comfort of your own home in your sweatpants. Perhaps the distance via a screen gives the chance for more vulnerability. One of the older ladies I had in my online bible study group for two years passed away in 2023, and all of us truly grieved her loss. Even though we had not met in person, we had studied God’s Word together. It connected our hearts together through the Holy Spirit and we are excited to one day see Mary in Heaven!

So I would love to share more of my life with you and would love to hear more about you as well! Let’s make intentional effort to connect with those both near and far away! In a world where it is easy to create distance and disconnect, I am trying to be more creative with connection!