We needed something to share as we introduced ourselves. There were about a dozen women gathered around the table, ready to share several days of ministry networking and training. Many of us had travelled and didn’t know each other, but we didn’t want to robotically recite our names. We wanted to share. We wanted to learn. We wanted to relate.

We looked blankly at it other, considering a great question we could answer and share.

“Well, I’d like to hear what stress each of you experienced in preparation to get here this morning!”

The suggestion came from the woman who had just arrived, sliding into the room a few minutes late but before we’d started anything formal. It sounded like a good idea even though nothing too stressful had happened to me. If nothing else, this woman sounded like she’d have a great story to share!

Mine was simple. My hotel roommate and had worked out. She took off running in one direction. I walked in the other direction. She planned to return to the room before me and get her shower. I’d get mine when I got back a bit later. That plan worked with only one glitch: my key didn’t work when I got to the room. I knocked several times, but she couldn’t hear me over the hair dryer. I gave in and went to the front desk for a new key. (I later learned her key had blown into the dumpster by the high winds when she set it down to pull back her hair. When she got a new key, apparently our room had a new code, and my key no longer matched.)

The woman whose idea it was to share stresses told us the story of not being able to get out of her garage because the door wouldn’t move. Another just wanted her hair to look good for our photo shoot. (It did.) Another tried to get ready in the dark so as not to wake her husband. She wore her new red shoes around the house as she got ready, trying to make sure they’d be comfortable throughout the day. They weren’t, so she packed them back in the box and slipped into a faithful pair instead. Her disappointment was short-lived as she remembered a woman who said she just wasn’t brave enough to buy red shoes but wanted a pair – a woman who was sitting at the table. Those red shoes found a new pair of feet that day!

Another woman realized the night before that the bra she needed wasn’t clean, so she handwashed it and hung it to dry. Bras take a long time to air dry, and it was not surprisingly still wet the next morning. She did her best to dry it as she dried her hair but finally decided the dampness just might keep her cool through the day.

My favorite story came from my roommate. I had no idea the excitement I missed while I was walking! She pushed herself to multi-task, wondering if she could possibly combine breakfast and a shower. She fixed herself a bowl of Raisin Bran and try to gulp it quickly while getting her hair wet. However, when she tilted her head back to wet her hair, she didn’t keep the bowl level, and it spilled all over the shower. Time saved was then spent cleaning up the mess, which she did well, because I didn’t suspect a thing! The Raisin-Bran-in-the-Shower story will follow her for years to come.

Our team got to know each other much better as we shared, laughed and encouraged together. There were no pretenses – just a group of real women who looked photo-shoot-ready on the outside but were a bit frazzled on the inside.

What about you?

Take a look around you. Even those who look perfect to you have needs. What common ground will you find? You’ll have to start somewhere, but you can do it.

Take a look inside yourself. Do your insides match your outside? How can you be more authentic and share a bit of yourself with others? You’ll have to start somewhere, but you can do it.

Need some ideas? Try these conversation starters – or share your own!

• If you could live in any other era, what would it be and why?
• What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve done to impress someone?
• What was your biggest fashion faux paux or wardrobe malfunction?
• What’s one technology trend you wish you’d had when you were younger?
• If you could pick a theme song that would play every time you entered a room, what would it be?
• If talent wasn’t an issue, what career would you choose and why?
• What’s the oddest job you’ve ever had?
• If you could eat anything in the world without gaining weight, what would it be?
• What invention does the world need?
• What’s your most compulsive daily ritual?

Two people are better than one, because they get more done by working together. If one falls down, the other can help him up. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)