Connections made and lost

I like to think that I am a fairly social person. Yes I am an introvert. Yes I do find a lot of social interaction to be quite exhausting. But I enjoy people. I like getting to know them. I like sharing jokes with them. I could never be a hermit. I need people.

In this modern age I have the ability to connect with anyone in the world using a computer or my smart phone. As long as we are both on line, within milliseconds I can connect with friends whether they be in Australia, Canada, the US, Britain or wherever. The thousands of kilometres between us don't matter although time zones limit when we can talk.

I realise that even though I have the ability to connect with anyone, I sometimes don't. Some people I have little in common with. Some people may have been my friends when I was a child, but we have moved on in different ways. Sometimes long standing arguments hinder my relationships with a few people. Some people cannot understand English and I cannot understand their language. Some people move in different social circles then I do (Bill Gates, Kim Kardashian, Malcolm Turnbull). For whatever reason my circle of friends and acquaintances is a minuscule part of the population as a whole.

In some ways this is understandable. The world is very vast and very diverse. I have travelled a bit, but there are great portions of the world that I will never see. People from all walks of life could join a church where I serve, but in reality there are not that many billionaires or Satanists that I come across in my line of work. Also, I am a person who well knows my limitations.  I have a few problems putting names to all of the faces that I have already met- just imagine if I had to do that with all 7 billion people in the world.

But in another way, I lose when I can't connect with others. What wisdom might they have to share with me? How might they have challenged, inspired, guided, listened, laughed with, cried with, and celebrated with me. No I am not suggesting that we can connect with everyone. But maybe we can be more intentional about keeping the connections that we already have. Let's listen and share with each other. You'll be glad you did.  Blessings.