Connecting the Dots!

It’s been a big week.

When I first took the Clifton StrengthsFinder test, and the theme “Connectedness” showed up in my Top 5, I didn’t fully understand its implications in my life. Later, someone told me that Connectedness is a strength that ties all of my other strengths together; it reaches into the fundamental way I see the world. He was so right.

I found this on LeadershipVisionConsulting.com.

Definition Of Connectedness

People with the StrengthsFinder theme of Connectedness believe that everything happens for a reason. They have the unique ability to ‘connect the dots’ between what is happening in the here and now with deep personal meaning. People with the strength of Connectedness have a unique way of seeing events, people and the world, able to recognize instinctively that everything that happens is caused by something else. There is a “ripple” that connects people and events together. In this connection, people with Connectedness find meaning, purpose and deeper relationships.

People with the strength of Connectedness enjoy being in situations and places that challenge their ability to connect seemingly random things to find meaning, value, information or explanation. People with Connectedness see within the tangible and intangible alike something that connects them with various people, places and experiences. At times, people with Connectedness appear to be randomly connecting a variety of obscure thoughts… but give them time, because you may find they have an amazing ability to weave those thoughts together to create a beautiful pattern of meaning.

Leadershipvisionconsulting.com, Linda Schubring

This is a really flattering definition, but what it really means is, weeks like this make my head spin with trying to connect the dots.

Add that to the fact that I’m an Enneagram 4, and I’m all up in my mind palace these days. lol

(I don’t want to be one of those “Make sure you click like and hit that subscribe button, and answer this question in the comments down below!” people, but if you want to share with me how your Clifton Strengths and Enneagram interact, I’m fascinated to know, so you should message me here or on FB or Insta. I really am so interested in these types of things – not just in myself but in others, for sure!)

I think “Connectedness” is a good way to describe how I hear from God. Everyone perceives the voice of God in different ways – some through the appreciation of nature, some through meaningful relationships, some through sermons or songs or quiet time in Scripture, some in a still, small voice… the possibilities are endless. God is speaking, so if you feel like you’re not hearing, it may just be that you haven’t found your best antennae. Or maybe you’re like me and keep so busy it’s hard to hear sometimes.

Kurt and I have been seeking the Lord about a dream He dropped in our hearts back in January, 2016. We’ve been taking step-by-step actions of faith, stepping and listening, stepping and listening.

Those of you who have followed our journey have watched us push forward and pull back, cast vision and ask for support, and then stay still for a while.

You’re all in the middle here with us, and we are so grateful.

Staying home this summer was hard, because it felt like maybe God was asking me to let go. Kurt and I both wondered if we’d reached the logical conclusion of this part of our story. We have met some amazing people, been part of some important meetings, prayed, worshiped, and dreamed. Maybe we’ve already been “instrumental in establishing a Lifegate in the Balkans?” Maybe this is what God had in mind, and now He’s going to show us something else?

Emotionally, I laid it down. Traveling to Serbia and/or moving there isn’t an agenda Kurt and I have ever wanted to push on our own. It’s not a “fun idea” – it’s always been an act of sacrifice and obedience. (The innumerable blessings are a byproduct, but not our motivation.)

My attitude was kind of, “OK God, I’m waiting and listening, but I’m not holding my breath. I’ve got stuff to do here and now.”

But you know what He did? (He’s so patient with me.)

He brought my friends from Serbia here to Omaha! As a result, He kept my heart connected to our relationships there. He shifted some things at Lifegate and appointed a person in our lives who continuously speaks vision and destiny to us. He brought in another friend from Macedonia and gave us an opportunity to hang out with him a bit. He started cracking open doors enough for me to see through and get really excited again.

I’ve felt, in this last week, that God has been fanning into a flame a dream I let simmer down into a little glowing ember.

And that’s not it. He’s reminding me of my passions and interests after a very dark season of feeling like there was nothing but pain in front of me. He’s letting me “teach” in my own time by inviting me into some curriculum writing. He’s giving me the grace for a full-on book that is already pouring out of my fingers a chapter at a time. He’s writing His words on my heart and on my arm. 😉

And most of those things happened all at once, this week.

I refuse to see that as a coincidence. I can’t – I’m not wired that way.

I wish I had more concrete things to share, but I wanted to keep you all in the loop of our story. There is so much more yet to come, and we’re going to need our community every step of the way. We don’t want to walk this alone – we can’t. ❤

I guess I share all of this to say that God is always moving. He’s at work while we’re asleep and when we’re awake. He’s moving when we’re paying close attention and when our attention wanders. He’s dreaming for us when we’re too hurt or distracted to dream for ourselves. He is SO faithful. His intentions for every one of us are good, and even when we can’t see what He’s got in mind for us, He is still so very trustworthy.

So, join me in walking this out step by step – whatever this looks like in your life.

We love you all! Thanks for sticking with us! ❤