Creative connecting with others is one way to ease the loneliness many of us feel during this coronavirus era. A Florida listener to our You Were Made for This podcast shared what she did to cope with feeling isolated from people. She wrote to tell me:

“I enjoyed your podcast today [Episode 60] in which you encouraged listeners to create something. I had the same idea when we first went on quarantine many weeks ago. So I gathered some smooth rocks and painted glossy hearts on them.  I had great fun distributing them randomly all over our neighborhood…

It was true joy to watch people discover them and wonder who did that and “what a fun idea!!”

Everyone needs to feel love— even if it’s a rock.❤️

It was such fun!! I waited till dusk, then dressed in all black to be clandestine!! I was literally across the street from a lady as she discovered her rock. She looked all around as I hid behind the bushes.

???? She exclaimed, “Well, isn’t this interesting. Everyone needs a little love!” It was all I could do to not jump up and down for joy. Mission accomplished!! ❤️”

You wouldn’t think someone would feel loved by a little rock with a red heart painted on it, but this neighbor did. She felt the love from our Florida listener in connecting with her in a way she found meaningful. Extending ourselves to others goes a long way to easing loneliness, both our own and the recipient of our connection efforts.

I love the tone of what she wrote. The words joy and love appear twice each, and fun is mentioned 3 times. Who wouldn’t like to have a neighbor like this? So upbeat. The fun, love, and joy all arise out of connecting with others, and doing so anonymously! Our loneliness eases when we connect with others.

It would be easy for many of us to think, “that worked for this her, but I’m not that creative. And I certainly can’t see myself dressing dark and dropping something off at my neighbors under cover of night. Connecting with others by creating isn’t how I roll.”

Fortunately, that’s not the point. Creative connecting with others is not so much about creativity as it is about connecting. Connecting with others consistent with how God created me.

We are all more creative than we think. Those who say they aren’t creative are just afraid. Afraid of what could happen if we took a risk to reflect the creative aspect of God’s character. We are, after all, created in his image. He tells us so in the Book of Genesis in the Bible.

How has God uniquely created you to connect with people? What might be holding you back, preventing you from experiencing the joy God intends for you in being all that he created you to be?

Being all that God created me to be blesses not just others, but myself as well. Take it from our Florida podcast listener who dressed like a navy seal to spread a little sunshine after sunset to her neighborhood.

We don’t have to be like her. We can do it differently that's unique to how God created us. For we have the built-in capacity to creatively connect with others in ways that will bring out the best in ourself, and in other people.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on all this. Please leave a reply.

There's more to come next Wednesday. While you wait for season 4 of You Were Made for This to resume on September 9th, you can listen to episode 60 that inspired our listener from Florida to share her story. It first aired on April 15, 2020.