When you are trying to connect with people, remember, they don't want to hear how much money you make.  Or how perfect your children are.  Or how big a house you live in, or how new a car you drive.  They don't want to know the expensive name brand of clothing you are wearing.  Those are not the things that people want to hear.

They want to know what went wrong in your life and how you overcame the problem.  We love stories in which a person rose above adversity.  How they survived and with the help of God, dug themselves out of the mess they were in.  How God turned tragedy into peace.

My friend Carolyn tells everyone, "Nobody will ever blackmail Janie.  She tells everything about herself.  There's nothing left to blackmail her with."  That's true.  I try to tell stories about myself that show how good God is.  How forgiving.  How loving.  How he takes our failures and gives us peace.  What good does it do to brag about your successes.  That helps no one.

So, for the family who has lost a child, I can listen and understand because I have buried one of my children.  For the person who has lost their health, I can listen and understand because I have been there.  Sometimes God chooses to heal us.  Sometimes he doesn't.  We simply share what God has done in our life.

People need hope.  They need to know that God is alive and well, and is still active in the lives of his children.  They want to hear, "Once upon a time.... and everyone lived happily ever after."  You have stories like that in your life.

Share them.