Reconnect

If you’ve been feeling disconnected recently, you are not alone. With quarantine, restrictions, lack of gatherings, and social distancing, many of us are feeling more disconnected than ever before. Sitting around meditating on how lonely we are is only going to make it worse. So let’s choose to do something about it!

Here are a few simple things we can do to reconnect.

Call a friend. I know… this one sounds pretty obvious, right? Well, just because it’s obvious doesn’t mean we’re taking the time to do it. We somehow manage to still find ways to be busy even in the midst of not having much we can do. At some point we have to make the conscious decision to stop doing the mundane and make time for the meaningful. If you have been talking to your friend(s) during this time, how about initiating a deeper conversation? Rather than just talking about all the surface level stuff and everything that’s going on all around you, how about talking about something a little deeper or something that’s going on within you. It is possible to reconnect in a whole new way to someone who you never disconnected from.

Check on someone you haven’t seen or heard from. Haven’t we all experienced those times where it’s been so long since you’ve talked to someone that it just seems awkward to call them out of the blue? Well, a global pandemic is the perfect excuse for not calling sooner! This doesn’t even have to be someone you were close to pre-pandemic. It could be a colleague, a parent or teacher at your child’s school, your hairstylist you haven’t been to in over a year, or simply someone whose smile you miss seeing. There’s probably not anyone who wouldn’t appreciate someone checking to see how they’re doing right about now. You never know… your reaching out may be just what they need as well.

Send a card or write a handwritten note. With all the technology we have today, letter writing has become a lost art. Long gone are the days where we would look forward to receiving a special something from someone in the mail that we would hold on to forever. Because it is so rare these days, it just makes it that much more special to receive. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. You don’t have to wait until you can go out and buy some special letterhead or shop for the perfect card. If you have a blank piece of paper and a pen, you already have what you need to get started!

Do something kind for someone else. We have spent a whole year trying to figure out what we need to do to take care of ourselves during this time of uncertainty. Now, let’s purposefully do something to be a blessing to someone else. Nothing connects people like a random act of kindness. Instead of talking about your neighbor because they haven’t cut their grass yet this season, how about you cut it for them? Know someone who has a birthday coming up but unable to gather for a party? Drop off a gift at their front door. Know a single mom who could use a break? Why not provide her family dinner for a day or two to help lighten her load? Sometimes reconnecting with others is as simple as choosing to stop only focusing on ourselves.

Meet up with some friends at the park. With so many of us being cooped up in the house all day, I’m sure we all could use some fresh air and some exercise. Now that the temperatures are starting to warm up, it’s a great time to have some of your friends join you for a walk or a bike ride in the park. Tennis is another great outdoor, socially distanced activity that you could enjoy with a friend. There’s nothing like reconnecting over a game where love is even a part of the score!

Join a virtual small group. Small groups are a great way to meet new people and form new connections. Many churches today offer a variety of different groups where people are encouraged to get together outside the normal corporate worship times. The smaller group size allows people the opportunity to get to know each other and identify commonalities. If your church doesn’t offer small groups right now, you may want to ask a friend if you could participate with their group or maybe even start one of your own.

Go on a date with your spouse. For some, it’s not the people outside your house you need to reconnect with – it’s those inside your house. We’ve spent the last year trying to figure out how to stay home all day everyday without driving each other bonkers, and inadvertently have trained ourselves how to coexist without connecting. Well, it’s time to start dating your spouse again. Now is the time to reconnect with the one you’re in covenant with.

Play with your kids. I know some of you may think this sounds ridiculous and may even be questioning why I felt the need to put this one on the list, but sometimes we get so wrapped up in trying to parent our children that we end up failing to play with them. It doesn’t matter how young or how old they are, play is one of the easiest ways to connect with our children. Whether it’s playing peekaboo with an infant, rolling around on the floor with a toddler, playing a boardgame with grade-schooler, or a card game with a young adult; make the time to bond though play. Laughter not only does the body good like a medicine, it also is one of the most fun tools we can use to help us reconnect.

Leave a comment below to share some creative things you have safely done to reconnect in this season.

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