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5 Minute Friday: Connect - Crystal Stine
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Crystal Stine

Home / Everyday faith / 5 Minute Friday: Connect

5 Minute Friday: Connect

Everyday faith, FMF

This week has flown by! I feel like I was just writing a 5 Minute Friday post yesterday and here we are again! Linking up with the lovely Lisa-Jo 🙂

Now, set your timer, clear your head, for five minutes of free writing without worrying about getting it right.
1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..
OK, are you ready? Please give me your best five minutes on:::

Connect…

GO: 

I struggle in my day to day living to feel like I know how to connect. I interact, make small talk, email, chat on the phone, but is that “connecting?” Do I get to the deep parts of people’s lives, the things that make them tick, the things that connect us together as sisters? 

I’m an introvert. Connecting is hard. It’s exhausting, if I’m going to be honest. I’ve hidden this week in an empty office at work simply to escape the constant interruptions by sweet coworkers who mean no harm at all, but don’t realize that it’s draining for me to sit in the middle of it all. How do I connect if just the thought of one more conversation makes me want to run and hide away with a cup of coffee & some fuzzy socks? 

I want to connect with my readers, respond to your comments with inspirational & encouraging words. I want you to read words that lift you up and make you feel like somehow, over computer screens, we could connect and really “get” each other. I’m not great at it. I get busy. I forget to write. I read your comments and plan to respond but run out of time.

And then I get an email telling me that I’m a blessing. That I encourage. That all that things I think I need to be better at to make this real life and social media connecting thing work….I’m already doing them? Someone noticed. And I realized just how much I love when other writers connect with ME…so I can’t give up. During the day I might be the smile, the encouragement that a coworker needs to get through the next hour. Online, I might be able to help someone else feel like they aren’t typing words into the void but they are actually connecting and touching hearts.

If you read my blog, thank you. If you comment, thank you. Thank you for wanting to connect with me, for making this introvert feel less exhausted and more inspired – you make this vast internet feel cozier and more like fuzzy socks than you’ll ever know.

STOP

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Crystal says

    Horrendously awful job I’m doing at replying to comments (ahem…a month ago!?) but I just adore what you wrote and keep going back to it when I need a little boost. Thank you!

  2. Amy Tilson says

    Thanks for sharing such a very important piece of information about yourself in such an honest and straightforward, unapologetic way. As an extrovert, it can be hard to understand how hard it can be to just keep up the social end of life. I have many, many friends who are introverts and this will help me to change how I interact. Feel free to call time out on me at any time. Probably right about now. 🙂 You are an amazing encourager – BTW!!!

  3. Lynda says

    I came over from FMF. Great post. I, too, have a hard time connecting. Being an introvert, it is so much easier to withdraw. But I am working on reaching out.

  6. Crystal says

    It’s taken me a long time to understand, too! I’m still not great at making sure I have alone time to recharge, but l’m working on it! Thanks for stopping by 🙂

  7. Shelly Miller says

    I’m the only extrovert in my family of three others. I’ve learned how it exhausts to interact and appreciate it now. I used to misunderstand it terribly. You expressed it well here. So nice to meet you through FMF.

  9. Anna Dagarin says

    I loved this post. 🙂 I know just how you feel! For me words mean so much. The tiniest little effort to connect is huge for me! The smallest encouraging word makes my entire day. So thanks for connecting. 🙂

  11. Danelle Landry Townsend says

    I think I often shortchange myself too. What is a smile? It could be everything. At some point I have to trust that God is placing me where I need to be and with who I need to be with. . and then I reach out in the ways He places on my heart. You are right with your words typed freely in this space, we just keep living and praying and being and leave the rest to Him.
    Really beautiful post. Glad to be here today. 🙂 I believe this is my first visit. Looking forward to subscribing and reading more.